Author:

Epiphanius makes this quotation from the Gospel of Eve (Panarion, 26.3.1):

I stood on a lofty mountain and saw a gigantic man, and another, a dwarf; and I heard as it were a voice of thunder, and drew nigh for to hear; and He spake unto me and said: I am thou, and thou art I; and wheresoever thou mayest be I am there. In all am I scattered [that is, the Logos as seed or “members”], and whencesoever thou willest, thou gatherest Me; and gathering Me, thou gatherest Thyself.

Chapter 1

Abraham seeks the blessings of the patriarchal order—He is persecuted by false priests in Chaldea—Jehovah saves him—The origins and government of Egypt are reviewed.

1 In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence;

2 And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.

3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.

4 I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.

5 My fathers, having turned from their righteousness, and from the holy commandments which the Lord their God had given unto them, unto the worshiping of the gods of the heathen, utterly refused to hearken to my voice;

6 For their hearts were set to do evil, and were wholly turned to the god of Elkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt;

7 Therefore they turned their hearts to the sacrifice of the heathen in offering up their children unto these dumb idols, and hearkened not unto my voice, but endeavored to take away my life by the hand of the priest of Elkenah. The priest of Elkenah was also the priest of Pharaoh.

8 Now, at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea, for the offering unto these strange gods, men, women, and children.

9 And it came to pass that the priest made an offering unto the god of Pharaoh, and also unto the god of Shagreel, even after the manner of the Egyptians. Now the god of Shagreel was the sun.

10 Even the thank-offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the altar which stood by the hill called Potiphar’s Hill, at the head of the plain of Olishem.

11 Now, this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, who were the daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly from the loins of Ham. These virgins were offered up because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar, and it was done after the manner of the Egyptians.

12 And it came to pass that the priests laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as they did those virgins upon this altar; and that you may have a knowledge of this altar, I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record.

13 It was made after the form of a bedstead, such as was had among the Chaldeans, and it stood before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and also a god like unto that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

14 That you may have an understanding of these gods, I have given you the fashion of them in the figures at the beginning, which manner of figures is called by the Chaldeans Rahleenos, which signifies hieroglyphics.

15 And as they lifted up their hands upon me, that they might offer me up and take away my life, behold, I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and he filled me with the vision of the Almighty, and the angel of his presence stood by me, and immediately unloosed my bands;

16 And his voice was unto me: Abraham, Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee, and have come down to deliver thee, and to take thee away from thy father’s house, and from all thy kinsfolk, into a strange land which thou knowest not of;

17 And this because they have turned their hearts away from me, to worship the god of Elkenah, and the god of Libnah, and the god of Mahmackrah, and the god of Korash, and the god of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; therefore I have come down to visit them, and to destroy him who hath lifted up his hand against thee, Abraham, my son, to take away thy life.

18 Behold, I will lead thee by my hand, and I will take thee, to put upon thee my name, even the Priesthood of thy father, and my power shall be over thee.

19 As it was with Noah so shall it be with thee; but through thy ministry my name shall be known in the earth forever, for I am thy God.

20 Behold, Potiphar’s Hill was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea. And the Lord broke down the altar of Elkenah, and of the gods of the land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the priest that he died; and there was great mourning in Chaldea, and also in the court of Pharaoh; which Pharaoh signifies king by royal blood.

21 Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth.

22 From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land.

23 The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden;

24 When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land.

25 Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal.

26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood.

27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry;

28 But I shall endeavor, hereafter, to delineate the chronology running back from myself to the beginning of the creation, for the records have come into my hands, which I hold unto this present time.

29 Now, after the priest of Elkenah was smitten that he died, there came a fulfilment of those things which were said unto me concerning the land of Chaldea, that there should be a famine in the land.

30 Accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea, and my father was sorely tormented because of the famine, and he repented of the evil which he had determined against me, to take away my life.

31 But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of Priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands; therefore a knowledge of the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the stars, as they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me.

Chapter 2

Abraham leaves Ur to go to Canaan—Jehovah appears to him at Haran—All gospel blessings are promised to his seed and through his seed to all—He goes to Canaan and on to Egypt.

1 Now the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of Ur, insomuch that Haran, my brother, died; but Terah, my father, yet lived in the land of Ur, of the Chaldees.

2 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, took Sarai to wife, and Nahor, my brother, took Milcah to wife, who was the daughter of Haran.

3 Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.

4 Therefore I left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and I took Lot, my brother’s son, and his wife, and Sarai my wife; and also my father followed after me, unto the land which we denominated Haran.

5 And the famine abated; and my father tarried in Haran and dwelt there, as there were many flocks in Haran; and my father turned again unto his idolatry, therefore he continued in Haran.

6 But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother’s son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord appeared unto me, and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice.

7 For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains—Depart hence—and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.

8 My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.

9 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

10 And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;

11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.

12 Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee;

13 Thou didst send thine angel to deliver me from the gods of Elkenah, and I will do well to hearken unto thy voice, therefore let thy servant rise up and depart in peace.

14 So I, Abraham, departed as the Lord had said unto me, and Lot with me; and I, Abraham, was sixty and two years old when I departed out of Haran.

15 And I took Sarai, whom I took to wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldea, and Lot, my brother’s son, and all our substance that we had gathered, and the souls that we had won in Haran, and came forth in the way to the land of Canaan, and dwelt in tents as we came on our way;

16 Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan.

17 Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an offering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned away from my father’s house, that they might not perish.

18 And then we passed from Jershon through the land unto the place of Sechem; it was situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the borders of the land of the Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devoutly, because we had already come into the land of this idolatrous nation.

19 And the Lord appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me: Unto thy seed will I give this land.

20 And I, Abraham, arose from the place of the altar which I had built unto the Lord, and removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there, Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; and there I built another altar unto the Lord, and called again upon the name of the Lord.

21 And I, Abraham, journeyed, going on still towards the south; and there was a continuation of a famine in the land; and I, Abraham, concluded to go down into Egypt, to sojourn there, for the famine became very grievous.

22 And it came to pass when I was come near to enter into Egypt, the Lord said unto me: Behold, Sarai, thy wife, is a very fair woman to look upon;

23 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see her, they will say—She is his wife; and they will kill you, but they will save her alive; therefore see that ye do on this wise:

24 Let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live.

25 And it came to pass that I, Abraham, told Sarai, my wife, all that the Lord had said unto me—Therefore say unto them, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee.

Chapter 3

Abraham learns about the sun, moon, and stars by means of the Urim and Thummim—The Lord reveals to him the eternal nature of spirits—He learns of pre-earth life, foreordination, the Creation, the choosing of a Redeemer, and the second estate of man.

1 And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;

2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;

3 And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

4 And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.

5 And the Lord said unto me: The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or greater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years.

6 And the Lord said unto me: Now, Abraham, these two facts exist, behold thine eyes see it; it is given unto thee to know the times of reckoning, and the set time, yea, the set time of the earth upon which thou standest, and the set time of the greater light which is set to rule the day, and the set time of the lesser light which is set to rule the night.

7 Now the set time of the lesser light is a longer time as to its reckoning than the reckoning of the time of the earth upon which thou standest.

8 And where these two facts exist, there shall be another fact above them, that is, there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still;

9 And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

10 And it is given unto thee to know the set time of all the stars that are set to give light, until thou come near unto the throne of God.

11 Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made;

12 And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof.

13 And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.

14 And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.

15 And the Lord said unto me: Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words.

16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me.

17 Now, if there be two things, one above the other, and the moon be above the earth, then it may be that a planet or a star may exist above it; and there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it.

18 Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.

19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.

20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.

21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

Chapter 4

The Gods plan the creation of the earth and all life thereon—Their plans for the six days of creation are set forth.

1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.

2 And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters.

3 And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light.

4 And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness.

5 And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night.

6 And the Gods also said: Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and it shall divide the waters from the waters.

7 And the Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so, even as they ordered.

8 And the Gods called the expanse, Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and this was the second time that they called night and day.

9 And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered;

10 And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

11 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.

12 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

13 And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time.

14 And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years;

15 And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.

16 And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also;

17 And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness.

18 And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.

19 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it was the fourth time.

20 And the Gods said: Let us prepare the waters to bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have life; and the fowl, that they may fly above the earth in the open expanse of heaven.

21 And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good.

22 And the Gods said: We will bless them, and cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas or great waters; and cause the fowl to multiply in the earth.

23 And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and it was the fifth time.

24 And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so, as they had said.

25 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.

26 And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.

28 And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And the Gods said: Behold, we will give them every herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it; yea, the fruit of the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for their meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized.

31 And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time.

Chapter 5

The Gods finish Their planning of the creation of all things—They bring to pass the Creation according to Their plans—Adam names every living creature.

1 And thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them.

2 And the Gods said among themselves: On the seventh time we will end our work, which we have counseled; and we will rest on the seventh time from all our work which we have counseled.

3 And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves to form; and sanctified it. And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.

4 And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the heavens,

5 According to all that which they had said concerning every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had not caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

8 And the Gods planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there they put the man, whose spirit they had put into the body which they had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life, also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 There was a river running out of Eden, to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.

11 And the Gods took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it.

12 And the Gods commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,

13 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning.

14 And the Gods said: Let us make an help meet for the man, for it is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him.

15 And the Gods caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and they took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;

16 And of the rib which the Gods had taken from man, formed they a woman, and brought her unto the man.

17 And Adam said: This was bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; now she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man;

18 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

19 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

20 And out of the ground the Gods formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that should be the name thereof.

21 And Adam gave names to all cattle, to the fowl of the air, to every beast of the field; and for Adam, there was found an help meet for him.

Facsimiles from the Book of Abraham

THE FOURTEENTH VISION OF DANIEL

There are at least nine texts calling themselves the “Apocalypse of Daniel.” This text, written in Coptic, dates from the crusader period, a little after 1187 AD, and is extant in Ms. Paris, BNF copte. It was published by Woide, Appendix ad editionem N. T. graeci e codici Alexandrino, Oxford, 1799, and translated into French by Frédéric Macler in 1896. In the manuscript which transmits the text to us, the book of Daniel appears, divided into thirteen “visions.” It is then followed by this text, called the “Fourteenth vision.”

Translated by Frédéric Macler

1 In the third year of Cyrus the Persian, who captured Babylon, a word was revealed to Daniel, whose name is Balthasar. This word is true. I, Daniel, fasted for twenty one days until the evening; I had not eaten meat, I had not drunk wine, I had not anointed myself with oil.

2 It happened, as I was on the bank of the Tigris, that this was revealed to me; I looked; and the four winds of heaven were blowing towards the great sea.

3 I saw four very frightening animals rising from the river.

4 The first animal resembled a bear, having wings like an eagle. I saw as I waited that it flew with its wings; a human heart was given to it and it stood on its feet.

5 The second animal resembled human flesh; excessively horrible, it stood to one side. I watched until three quarters of its face were broken and the fourth quarter remained firm. I looked at it until its teeth were torn out of its mouth.

6 The third animal resembled a panther; it had wings, four heads, devouring with speed and scattering what remained.

7 The fourth animal which I saw resembled a lion, an animal much more terrible than all the animals which had been before it. Power and great force were given to it; its hands were of iron, its nails of bronze; devouring, chewing, crushing with its feet what remained. I saw ten horns which came out from its head: I saw also another small horn, which came out beside these ten horns. And great power and a remarkable form were given to it. I saw four different horns which arose on its left, then four others which arose after all these; each of them was different from the others, and, between them all, they made nineteen horns.

8 And I heard a voice which said to me: “Daniel, do you understand what you saw?” But I said: “How can I understand, if nobody guides me?”

9 I looked and I saw an angel of God standing on my right. Its wings were extremely bright. I was afraid and I fell to the ground. The angel seized me, made me stand on my feet and said to me: “Stand on your feet, so that I can proclaim to you what will happen in the last days.

10 The four animals which you saw are four kingdoms. The animal that you saw, similar to a bear, is the king of Persia. He will possess the land for five hundred fifty-five years. Then he will perish with his kingdom; he will not be powerful for always.

11 The second animal that you saw, similar to human flesh, it is the king of the Romans: he will seize the land as if by iron; he will extend himself over it; he will dominate by his armies as far as the land of the Ethiopians, and he will reign over it nine hundred and eleven years. But he will not possess the capital of the kingdom, until many days are completed.

12 The third animal which you saw, who resembled a panther, it is the king of the Greeks. He will reign over it for a thousand years and thirty days; but his reign will not last.

13 The fourth animal which you saw, who resembles a lion, is the king of the sons of Ishmael. He will reign for a long time over the land and will be very powerful during many days. This realm will be of the race of Abraham and of the slave of Sara, the wife of Abraham. All the cities of the Persians, the Romans and the Greeks will be destroyed; nineteen kings of this race among the sons of Ishmael will reign over the land; they will reign until the time of their end.

14 The tenth of their kings will be like a prophet, the number of his name is 399. He will practice justice, will give bread to the famished, clothing to those which are naked. He will free those who are slaves. His mercy will spread over the whole land, and his justice up to heaven.

15 The eleventh of their kings will practice iniquity over all the land; he will ruin the old works. He will persecute those which are on the land, so that nobody is found who lives there or remains there. All men will groan for forty-two months. If the God of heaven treats him with indulgence, his reign will last forty months.

16 The reign of the twelfth of their kings will consequently be strengthened by the judgments of his mouth. He will carry out malicious actions in the land, so much that men will be astonished by what he did. There will be many wars during his reign. At the end of the time, a king will thoroughly disturb the kingdom of Ismaelites for one hundred and forty-seven years. In the hundred and tenth year of his reign, he will have a war with the Ethiopians. The Ismaelites will reign over them, until they have despoiled the city of the kingdom, which is Souban. They will send messengers to ask for peace; they will give them money and gold in great quantity, a tribute will be paid to them in Ethiopia.

17 The thirteenth of them will not live in this kingdom at all, and they will not fear him. His reign will be of a few days.

18 The fourteenth of their kings will receive gold and money in great quantity and he will judge the land with equity. He will engage in war with Lower Egypt, so that Egypt is in sorrow and groaning. The Ethiopians will not be subjected at all to him, they will not pay him tribute. In those days there will be war in the land of the Romans. The Ethiopians will make war with the southernmost regions of Egypt; they will plunder the boroughs and all the cities of lower Egypt, until they arrive at the town of Cleopatra that she built herself in Upper Egypt, which city is Schmoun. After these things, the king of Syria will learn of it, he will fear the end because the war is approaching him. In the end, his reign will be established and he will enjoy a happy existence.

19 Then a child will arise among the Israelites will rise; this is the fifteenth of their kings. In his heart, he will be hard like iron; he will extend his sword to the Romans; his right hand will be on the Ethiopians. His face will be double and his language will be double. During the days of his reign, there will be a great disorder over all the land, and his word will be violent like fire. The Ethiopians will bring gifts of gold to him, of silver, of pearls, and he will impose his work on everyone. He will make several nations captive in order to conscript them; throughout all his reign, there will not be enough bread; there will be no peace as long as he will reign, and in his time carnage will be frequent.

20 As for the sixteenth of their kings, there will be no war in his kingdom, and he himself will not fight with anybody, and he will be granted a long time which he will spend in peace, and his reign will pass in uprightness.

21 As regards the seventeenth of their kings, a war will break out between him and his nation; it is him whose name makes the number 666. He will elevate from his nation a man who will make war for him; he will pursue him as far as Egypt with the riches of its kingdom. He will neglect his nation and its great people and will scatter riches in public places and highways. While moving in lower Egypt with his riches, he will go into Upper Egypt on the side of the North, with the intention to plunder Souban, the city of the Ethiopians, with the remainder of its riches. But a man of his own nation will kill him in the southernmost regions of lower Egypt, and will take what remains to him of his riches.

22 The eighteenth of their kings, at the beginning of his reign, will work great evils, for one thousand, two hundred and sixty days. He will wage war in the western countries, and he will gain the victory until the day of his death.

23 Then among them a child will arise, who is his son. This one is the nineteenth of their kings. He will be the child of a double race, because his father is an Israelite, his mother is Roman. There will be war in Egypt and Syria for twenty one months. Their swords will fall on themselves in this war. This is the king whose name makes the number 666; he will be called by these three names: Mametios, Khalle and Sarapidos. Being a child, he will reign in order to do much evil. He will order all the Jews which are in all places to gather in Jerusalem. All the land will be disturbed during his reign, until any man can be sold for a single dinar. He is without decency and he will forget the fear of God. He will not remember the law of Ishmael his father, nor of his mother, who is Roman; he will be arrogant, continuously drunk; he will make a great number of those who eat at his table die by poisoned beverages, and in these days there will be great devastations. He will free Syria and the territory of Jews, and will torment the East and Egypt. He will establish carriers of letters in Egypt. Two and three times in only one year, the East will be against itself in this reign which will be the nineteeth. He will seek neither justice, nor truth, but he will seek gold all the time. He will establish managers in the regions of Africa, and a great quantity of soldiers. War will break out between him and them; they will destroy the multitude which is with him; he will be established in the regions of Africa, with what will remain of his troops, for several years, and he will not overcome it. Then a foreign nation will rise against him; it is called Pitourgos; it will make war on him. Sarapidos will dominate over many Romans, over Pentapolis, over the Medes; from them all he will take a tribute, will command their cities and will plunder the city which he built, and regions that his father had gathered. The Turk will prepare for war to remove the kingdom from the hands of Sarapidos; hitherto Sarapidos remained at home. He was looking for spoils, because Sarapidos had great riches before his eyes, gold, silver, all kinds of precious stones, and desirable utensils of every kind. But it will be proclaimed to him that the Turk has made himself Master of all Syria and his borders, and he will go out in great disorder with all his troops; he will leave all the water-skins, will not carry anything with him; but he will have a heart of an animal, reflecting and knowing not what to do. Then, when he flees, going up Egypt, the Turk will precede him with his troops. They will both land with their troops, they will fight until blood runs in floods. The Turk is of Roman race. There will be war at Eschmoun the city, until the water of the river is changed into blood because of the great quantity of those wounded to death. No-one will be able to drink the water any more. Many men will die by the sword, uncountable. Those who remain will plunder their own country from where they left. The Turk will make Sarapidos perish, in order to remove his kingdom from him, for fear he will not obtain the kingdom of the Ishmaelites; but this is here the end of their number.

24 Then the king of the Romans will rise up against them, he will destroy them by the edge of the sword in the middle of the Ishmaelites in the territory of their fathers in the desert. The Ishmaelites will be governed always by the Romans; the Romans will dominate over Egypt for forty years.

25 Then two nations will rise, by the name of Gog and Magog; they will shake the ground for several days; their number is as great as the grains of sand.

26 Then Antichrist will appear who will deceive many of them. When he is strengthened, he will seduce even the elect. He will kill the two prophets Enoch and Elias, so that for three and a half days they will be dead in the public places of the great town of Jerusalem.

27 Then the Ancient of Days will bring them back to life. It is He whom I see coming with the clouds from Heaven, similar to a son of man. His power is an eternal power and His reign will have no end. It is he which will put Antichrist to death and all the multitude which is with him. There will be misfortune then in truth to any soul who will live in that time over all the land, because there will be iniquity, a great affliction and groanings; but the salvation of man is between the hands of God in Heaven. This is the end of the speech.”

28 The angel said to me: “Daniel, Daniel, conceal these discourses, seal them up until the time when they will be fulfilled, because that is the end of all.” I, Daniel, I arose, I put a seal to the discourse, and sealed them. I will glorify God, the father of all things and the lord of the universe, He who knows the dates and times. To him be glory and power forever. Amen.

Edited & Translated by Hugo Odeberg Ph.D. (LoND.)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION:R. Ishmael ascends to heaven to behold the vision of the Merkaba and is given in charge to Metatron AND ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD: AND HE WAS NOT; FOR GOD TOOK HIM (Gen. V. 24)

Rabbi Ishmael said:

(1) When I ascended on high to behold the vision of the Merkaba and had entered the six Halls, one within the other:

(2) as soon as I reached the door of the seventh Hall I stood still in prayer before the Holy One, blessed be He, and, lifting up my eyes on high (i.e. towards the Divine Majesty), I said:

(3)  Lord of the Universe, I pray thee, that the merit of Aaron, the son of Amram, the lover of peace and pursuer of peace, who received the crown of priesthood from Thy Glory on the mount of Sinai, be valid for me in this hour, so that Qafsiel*, the prince, and the angels with him may not get power over me nor throw me down from the heavens.

(4) Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, sent to me Metatron, his Servant (Ebed) the angel, the Prince of the Presence, and he, spreading his wings, with great joy came to meet me so as to save me from their hand.

(5) And he took me by his hand in their sight, saying to me: Enter in peace before the high and exalted King and behold the picture of the Merkaba.

(6) Then I entered the seventh Hall, and he led me to the camp(s) of Shekina and placed me before the Holy One, blessed be He, to behold the Merkaba.

(7) As soon as the princes of the Merkaba and the flaming Seraphim perceived me, they fixed their eyes upon me. Instantly trembling and shuddering seized me and I fell down and was benumbed by the radiant image of their eyes and the splendid appearance of their faces; until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them, saying:

(8) My servants, my Seraphim, my Kerubim and my Ophanniml Cover ye your eyes before Ishmael, my son, my friend, my beloved one and my glory, that he tremble not nor shudder!  

(9) Forthwith Metatron the Prince of the Presence, came and restored my spiritand put me upon my feet.

(10) After that (moment) there was notin me strength enough to say a song before the Throne of Glory of the glorious King, the mightiest of all kings, the most excellent of all princes, until after the hour had passed.

(11) After one hour (had passed) the Holy One, blessed be He, opened to me the gates of Shekina, the gates of Peace, the gates of Wisdom, the gates of Strength, the gates of Power, the gates of Speech (Dibbur), the gates of Song, the gates of Qedushsha, the gates of Chant.

(12) And he enlightened my eyes and my heart by words of psalm, song, praise, exaltation, thanksgiving, extolment, glorification, hymn and eulogy. And as I opened my mouth, uttering a song before the Holy One, blessed be He, the Holy Chayyoth beneath and above the Throne of Glory answered and said: HOLY  and BLESSED BE THE GLORY OF YHWH FROM HIS PLACE! (i.e. chanted the Qedushsha).

CHAPTER II

The highest classes of angels make inquiries about R. Ishmael which are answered by Metatron.

Ishmael said;

(1) In that hour the eagles of the Merkaba, the flaming Ophannim and the Seraphim of consuming fire asked Metatron, saying to him:

(2) Youth! Why sufferest thou one born of woman to enter and behold the Merkaba? From which nation, from which tribe is this one? What is his character?

(3) Metatron answered and said to them: From the nation of Israel whom the Holy One, blessed be He, chose for his people from among seventy tongues (nations), from the tribe of Levi, whom he set aside as a contribution to his name and from the seed of Aaron whom the Holy One, blessed be He, did choose for his servant and put upon him the crown of priesthood on Sinai.

(4) Forthwith they spake and said: Indeed, this one is worthy to behold the Merkaba. And they said: Happy is the people that is in such a case!

CHAPTER III

Metatron has 70 names, but God calls him ‘Youth’.

R. Ishmael said:

(1) In that hourl I asked Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence: What is thy name?

(2) He answered me: I have seventy names, corresponding to the seventy tongues of the world and all of them are based upon the name Metatron, angel of the Presence; but my King calls me ‘Youth’ (Na’ar)

CHAPTER IV

Metatron is identical with Enoch who was translated to heaven at the time of the Deluge.

R. Ishmael said:

(1) I asked Metatron and said to him: Why art thou called by the name of thy Creator, by seventy names? Thou art greater than all the princes, higher than all the angels, beloved more than all the servants, honored above all the mighty ones in kingship, greatness and glory: why do they call thee ‘Youth’ in the high heavens?

(2) He answered and said to me:  Because I am Enoch, the son of Jared.

(3) For when the generation of the flood sinned and were confounded in their deeds, saying unto

God: ‘Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways’ (Job xxi. 14), then the Holy One, blessed be He, removed me from their midst to be a witness against them in the high heavens to all the inhabitants of the world, that they may not say: The Merciful One is cruel.

(4) What sinned all those multitudes, their wives, their sons and their, daughters, their horses, their mules and their cattle and their property, and all the birds of the world, all of which the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed from the world together with them in the waters of the flood?

(5) Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted me up in their lifetime before their eyes to be a witness against them to the future world. And the Holy One, blessed be He, assigned me for a prince and a ruler among the ministering angels.

(6) In that hour three of the ministering angels, UZZA, AZZA and AZZAEL came forth and brought charges against me in the high heavens, saying before the Holy One, blessed be He: Said not the Ancient Ones (First Ones) rightly before Thee: Do not create man! The Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said unto them: I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry and will deliver. (Is. xlvi. 4.)

(7) As soon as they saw me, they said before Him: Lord of the Universe! What is this one that he should ascend to the height of heights? Is not he one from among the sons of [the sons of] those who perished in the days of the Flood? What doeth he in the Raqia?

(8) Again, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said to them: What are ye, that ye enter and speak in my presence? I delight in this one more than in all of you, and hence he shall be a prince and a ruler over you in the high heavens.

(9) Forthwith all stood up and went out to meet me, prostrated themselves before me and said: Happy art thou and happy is thy father for thy Creator doth favour thee.

(10) And because I am small and a youth among them in days, months and years, therefore they call me Youth (Na’ar).

CHAPTER V

The idolatry of the generation of Enosh causes God to remove the Shekinafrom earth. The idolatry inspired by Azza, Uzza and Azziel

R.Ishmael said; Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me;

(1) From the day when the Holy One, blessed be He, expelled the first Adam from the Garden of Eden (and onwards), Shekina was dwelling upon a Kerub under the Tree of Life.

(2) And the ministering angels were gathering together and going down from heaven in parties, from the Raqia in companies and from the heavens in camps to do His will in the whole world.

(3) And the first man and his generation were sitting outside the gate of the Garden to behold the radiant appearance of the Shekina.

(4) For the silendour of the Shekina traversed the world from one end to the other (with a splendour) 365,000 times (that) of the globe of the sun. And everyone who made use of the splendour of the Shekina, on him no flies and no gnats did rest, neither was he ill nor suffered he any pain. No demons got power over him, neither were they able to injure him.

(5) When the Holy One, blessed be He, went out and went in; from the Garden to Eden, from Eden to the Garden, from the Garden to Raqia and from Raqia to the Garden of Eden then all and everyone beheld the splendour of His Shekina and they were not injured;

(6) until uthe time of the generation of Enosh who was the head of all idol worshippers of the world.

(7) And what did the generation of Enosh do? They went from one end of the world to the other, and each one brought silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in heaps like unto mountains and hills making idols out of them throughout all the world. And they erected the idols in every quarter of the world: the size of each idol was 1000 parasangs.

(8) And they brought down the sun, the moon, planets and constellations, and placed them before the idols on their right hand and on their left, to attend them even as they attend the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written (1 Kings xxii. 19): And all the host of heaven was standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

(9) What power was in them that they were able to bring them down? They would not have been able to bring them down but for Uzza, Azza and Azziel who taught them sorceries whereby they brought them down and made use of them

(10) In that time the ministering angels brought charges (against them) before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying before him: Master of the World! What hast thou to do with the children of men? As it is written (Ps. viii. 4) ‘What is man (Enosh) that thou art mindful of him?’ ‘Mah Adam’ is not written here, but ‘Mah Enosh’, for he (Enosh) is the head of the idol worshippers.

(11) Why hast thou left the highest of the high heavens, the abode of thy glorious Name, and the high and exalted Throne in ‘Araboth Raqia’ in the highest and art gone and dwellest with the children of men who worship idols and equal thee to the idols.

(12)Now thou art on earth and the idols likewise. What hast thou to do with the inhabitants of the earth who worship idols?

(13) Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted up His Shekina from the earth, from their midst.

(14) In that moment came the ministering angels, the troops of hosts and the armies of Araboth in thousand camps and ten thousand hosts:they fetched trumpets and took the horns in their hands and surrounded the Shekina with all kinds of songs. And He ascended to the high heavens, as it is written (Ps. xlvii. 5): God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

CHAPTER VI

Enoch lifted up to heaven together with the Shekina. Angels protests answered by God

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) When the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to lift me up on high, He first sent ‘Anaphiel H (H = Tetragrammaton) the Prince, and he took me from their midst in their sight and carried me in great glory upon a a fiery chariot with fiery horses, servants of glory. And he lifted me up to the high heavens together with the Shekina.

(2) As soon as I reached the high heavens, the Holy Chayyoth, the Ophannim, the Seraphim, the Kerubim, the Wheels of the Merkaba (the Galgallim), and the ministers of the consuming fire, perceiving my smell from a distance of 365,ooo myriads of parasangs, said: What smell of one born of woman and what taste of a white drop (is this) that ascends on high, and (lo, he is merely) a gnat among those who ‘divide flames (of fire)’?

(3) The Holy One, blessed be He, answered and spake unto them: My servants, my hosts, my Kerubim, my Ophannim, my Seraphim! Be ye not displeased on account of this! Since all the children of men have denied me and my great Kingdom and are gone worshipping idols, I have removed my Shekina from among them and have lifted it up on high. But this one whom I have taken from among them is an ELECT ONE among (the inhabitants of) the world and he is equal to all of them in faith, righteousness and perfection of deed and I have taken him for (as) a tribute from my world under all the heavens.

CHAPTER VII

Enoch raised upon the wings of the Shekina to the place of the Throne, the Merkaba and the angehc hosts

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me;

(1) When the Holy One, blessed be He, took me away from the generation of the Flood, he lifted me on the wings of the wind of Shekina to the highest heaven and brought me into the great palaces of the ‘Araboth Raqia’ on high, where are the glorious Throne of Shekina, the Merkaba, the troops of anger, the armies of vehemence, the fiery Shin’anim, the flaming Kerubim, and the burning Ophannim, the flaming servants, the flashing Chashmattim and the lightening Seraphim. And he placed me (there) to attend the Throne of Glory day after day.

CHAPTER VIII

The gates (of the treasuries of heaven) opened to Metatron

R. Ishmael said:Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Before He appointed me to attend the Throne of Glory, the Holy One, blessed be He, opened to me three hundred thousand gates of Understanding, three hundred thousand gates of Subtlety, three hundred thousand gates of Life, three hundred thousand gates of grace and loving-kindness, three hundred thousand gates of love, three hundred thousand gates of Tora, three hundred thousand gates of meekness, three hundred thousand gates of maintenance, three hundred thousand gates of mercy, three hundred thousand gates of fear of heaven.

(2) In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, added in me wisdom unto wisdom, understanding unto understanding, subtlety unto subtlety, knowledge unto knowledge, mercy unto mercy, instruction unto instruction, love unto love, loving-kindness unto loving-kindness, goodness unto goodness, meekness unto meekness, power unto power, strength unto strength, might unto might, brilliance unto brilliance, beauty unto beauty, splendour unto splendour, and I was honored and adorned with all these good and praiseworthy things more than all the children of heaven.

CHAPTER IX

Enoch receives blessings from the Most High and is adorned with angelic attributes

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) After all these things the Holy One, blessed be He, put His hand upon me and blessed me with 5360 blessings.

(2) And I was raised and enlarged to the size of the length and width of the world.

(3) And He caused 72 wings to grow on me, 36 on each side. And each wing was as the whole world.

(4) And He fixed on me 365 eyes: each eye was as the great luminary.

(5) And He left no kind of splendour, brilliance, radiance, beauty in (of) all the lights of the universe that He did not fix on me.

CHAPTER X

God places Metatron on a throne at the door of the seventh Hall and announces through the Herald, that Metatron henceforth is God’s representative and ruler over all the princes of kingdoms and all the children of heaven, save the eight high princes called YHWH by the name of their King

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me;

(1) All these things the Holy One, blessed be He, made for me:He made me a Throne, similar to the Throne of Glory. And He spread over me a curtain of splendour and brilliant appearance, of beauty, grace and mercy, similar to the curtain of the Throne of Glory; and on it were fixed all kinds of lights in the universe.

(2) And He placed it at the door of the Seventh Hall and seated me on it.

(3) And the herald went forth into every heaven, saying:This is Metatron, my servant. I have made him into a prince and a ruler over all the princes of my kingdoms and over all the children of heaven, except the eight great princes, the honored and revered ones who are called YHWH, by the name of their King.

(4) And every angel and every prince who has a word to speak in my presence (before me) shall go into his presence (before him) and shall speak to him (instead).

(5)And every command that he utters to you in my name do ye observe and fulfil. For the Prince of Wisdom and the Prince of Understanding have I committed to him to instruct him in the wisdom of heavenly things and of earthly things, in the wisdom of this world and of the world to come.

(6) Moreover, I have set him over all the treasuries of the palapes of Araboih and over all the stores of life that I have in the high heavens.

CHAPTER XI

God reveals all mysteries and secrets to Metatron

R. Ishmael said:Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Henceforth the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to me all the mysteries of Tora and all the secrets of wisdom and all the depths of the Perfect Law; and all living beings’ thoughts of heart and all the secrets of the universe and all the secrets of Creation were revealed unto me even as they are revealed unto the Maker of Creation.

(2) And I watched intently to behold the secrets of the depth and the wonderful mystery. Before a man did think in secret, I saw (it) and before a man made a thing I beheld it.

(3) And there was no thing on high nor in the deep hidden from me.

CHAPTER XII

God clothes Metatron in a garment of glory, puts a royal crown on his head and calls him the Lesser YHWH

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) By reason of the love with which the Holy One, blessed be He, loved me more than all the children of heaven. He made me a garment of glory on which were fixed all kinds of lights, and He clad me in it.

(2)And He made me a robe of honour on which were fixed all kinds of beauty, splendour, brilliance and majesty.

(3) And he made me a royal crown in which were fixed forty-nine costly stones like unto the light of the globe of the sun.

(4) For its splendour went forth in the four quarters of the Araboth Raqia’, and in (through) the seven heavens, and in the four quarters of the world. And he put it on my head.

(5) And He called me THE LESSER YHWH in the presence of all His heavenly household; as it is written (Ex. xxiii. 21): For my name is in him.

CHAPTER XIII

God writes with a flaming style on Metatron’s crown the cosmic letters by which heaven and earth were created

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, the Glory of all heavens, said to me:

(1) Because of the great love and mercy with which the Holy One, blessed be He, loved and cherished me more than all the children of heaven. He wrote with his ringer with a flaming style upon the crown on my head the letters by which were created heaven and earth, the seas and rivers, the mountains and hills, the planets and constellations, the Ughtnings, winds, earthquakes and voices (thunders), the snow and hail, the storm-wind and the tempest; the letters by which were created all the needs of the world and all the orders of Creation.

(2) And every single letter sent forth time after time as it were lightnings, time after time as it were torches, time after time as it were flames of fire, time after time (rays) like [as] the rising of the sun and the moon and the planets.

CHAPTER XIV

All the highest princes, the elementary angels and the planetary and sideric angels fear and tremble at the sight of Metatron crowned

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) When the Holy One, blessed be He, put this crown on my head, (then) trembled before me all the Princes of Kingdoms who are in the height of Araboth Raqiaf and all the hosts of every heaven; and even the princes (of) the ‘Elim, the princes (of) the Er’ellim and the princes (of) the Tafsarim, who are greater than all the ministering angels who minister before the Throne of Glory, shook, feared and trembled before me when they beheld me.

(2) Even Sammael, the Prince of the Accusers, who is greater than all the princes of kingdoms on high; feared and trembled before me.

(3) And even the angel of fire, and the angel of hail, and the angel of the wind, and the angel of the lightning, and the angel of anger, and the angel of the thunder, and the angel of the snow, and the angel of the rain; and the angel of the day, and the angel of the night, and the angel of the sun and the angel of the moon, and the angel of the planets and the angel of the constellations who rule the world under their hands, feared and trembled and were affrighted before me, when they beheld me.

(4) These are the names of the rulers of the world: Gabriel, the angel of the fire, Baradiel, the angel of the hail, Ruchiel who is appointed over the wind, Baraqiel who is appointed over the lightnings, Za’amiel who is appointed over the vehemence, Ziqiel who is appointed over the sparks, Zi’iel who is appointed over the commotion, Zdaphiel who is appointed over the storm-wind, Ra’amiel who is appointed over the thunders, Rctashiel who is appointed over the earthquake, Shalgiel who is appointed over the snow, Matariel who is appointed over the rain, Shimshiel who is appointed over the day, Lailiel who is appointed over the night, Galgalliel who is appointed over the globe of the sun, Ophanniel who is appointed over the globe of the moon, Kokbiel who is appointed over the planets, Rahatiel who is appointed over the constellations.

(5) And they all fell prostrate, when they saw me. And they were not able to behold me because of the majestic glory and beauty of the appearance of the shining light of the crown of glory upon my head.

CHAPTER XV

Metatron transformed into fire

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, the Glory of all heavens, said to me:

(1) As soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, took me in (His) service to attend the Throne of Glory and the Wheels (Galgallim) of the Merkaba and the needs of Shekina, forthwith my flesh was changed into flames, my sinews into flaming fire, my bones into coals of burning juniper, the light of my eye-lids into splendour of lightnings, my eye-balls into fire-brands, the hair of my head into dot flames, all my limbs into wings of burning fire and the whole of my body into glowing fire.

(2) And on my right were divisions 6 of fiery flames, on my left fire-brands were burning, round about me stormwind and tempest were blowing and in front of me and behind me was roaring of thunder with earthquake.

FRAGMENT OF ‘ASCENSION OF MOSES’

(1) R. Ishmael said: Said to me Metatron, the Prince of the Presence and the prince over all the princes and he stands befote Him who is greater than all the Elohim. And he goes in under the Throne of Glory. And he has a great tabernacle of light on high. And he brings forth the fire of deafness and puts (it) into the ears of the Holy Chayyoth, that they may not hear the voice of the Word (Dibbur) that goes forth from the mouth of the Divine Majesty.

(2) And when Moses ascended on high, he fasted 121 fasts, till the habitations of the chashmal were opened to him; and he saw the heart within the heart of the Lion and he saw the innumerable companies of the hosts Around about him. And they desired to burn him. But Moses prayed for mercy, first for Israel and after that for himself: and He who sitteth on the Merkaba opened the windows that are above the heads of the Kerubim. And a host of 1800 advocates and the Prince of the Presence, Metatron, with them went forth to meet Moses. And they took the prayers of Israel and put them as a crown on the head of the Holy One, blessed be He.

(3) And they said (Deut. vi. 4): Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lordand their face shone and rejoiced over Shekinaand they said to Metatron: What are these? And to whom do they give all this honour and glory? And they answered: To the Glorious Lord of Israel. And they spake: Hear, O Israel: the Lord, our God, is one Lord. To whom shall be given abundance of honour and majesty but to Thee YHWH, the Divine Majesty, the King, living and eternal.

(4) In that moment spake Akatriel Yah Yehod Sebaoth and said to Metatron, the Prince of the Presence: Let no prayer that he prayeth before me return (to him) void. Hear thou his prayer and fulfil his desire whether (it be) great or small.

(5) Forthwith Metatron, the Prince of the Presence, said to Moses: Son of Amram! Fear not, for now God delights in thee. And ask thou u thy desire of the Glory and Majesty. For thy face shines from one end of the world to the other. But Moses answered him: (I fear) lest I bring guiltiness upon myself. Metatron said to him: Receive the letters of the oath, in (by) which there is no breaking the covenant (which precludes any breach of the covenant).

CHAPTER XVI

Probably additional Metatron divested of his privilege of presiding on a Tlirone of his own on account of Acher’s misapprehension in taking him for a second Divine Power

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, the Glory of all heaven, said to me;

(1) At first I was sitting upon a great Throne at the door of the Seventh Hall; and I was judging the children of heaven, the household on high by authority of the Holy One, blessed be He. And I divided Greatness, Kingship, Dignity, Rulership, Honour and Praise, and Diadem and Crown of Glory unto all the princes of kingdoms, while I was presiding (lit. sitting) in the Celestial Court (Yeshiba), and the princes of kingdoms were standing before me, on my right and on my left by authority of the Holy One, blessed be He.

(2) But when Acher came to behold the vision of the Merkaba and fixed his eyes on me, he feared and trembled before me and his soul was affrighted even unto departing from him, because of fear, horror and dread of me, when he beheld me sitting upon a throne like a king with all the ministering angels standing by me as my servants and all the princes of kingdoms adorned with crowns surrounding me:

(3) in that moment he opened his mouth and said: Indeed, there are two Divine Powers in heaven!

(4) Forthwith Bath Qol (the Divine Voice) went forth from heaven from before the Shekina and said: Return, ye backsliding children (Jer. iii. 22), except Acher!

(5) Then came ‘Aniyel, the Prince, the honoured, glorified, beloved, wonderful, revered and fearful one, in commission from the Holy One, blessed be He and gave me sixty strokes with lashes of fire and made me stand on my feet.

CHAPTER XVII

The princes of the seven heavens, of the sun, moon, planets and constellations and their suites of angels.

R. Ishmael said:Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, the glory of all heavens, said to me:

(1) Seven (are the) princes, the great, beautiful, revered, wonderful and honored ones who are appointed over the seven heavens. And these are they: MIKAEL, GABRIEL, SHATQIEL, SHACHAQIEL, BAKARIEL, BAD ARIEL, PACHRIEL.

(2) And every one of them is the prince of the host of (one) heaven. And each one of them is accompanied by 496,000 myriads of ministering angels.

(3) MIKAEL, the great prince, is appointed over the seventh heaven, the highest one, which is in the Araboth. GABRIEL, the prince of the host, is appointed over the sixth heaven which is in Makon. SHATAQIEL, prince of the host, is appointed over the fifth heaven which is in Ma’on. SHAHAQi’EL, prince of the host, is appointed over the fourth heaven which is in Zebul. BAD ARIEL, prince of the host, is appointed over the third heaven which is in Shehaqim. BARAKIEL, prince of the host, is appointed over the second heaven which is in the height of (Merom) Raqia. PAZRIEL, prince of the host, is appointed over the first heaven which is in Wilon, which is in Shamayim.

(4) Under them is GALGALLIEL, the prince who is appointed over the globe (galgal) of the sun, and with him are 96 great and honored angels who move the sun in Raqia.

(5)Under them is OPHANNIEL, the prince who is set over the globe (ophari) of the moon. And with him are 88 angels who move the globe of the moon 354 thousand parasangs every night at the time when the moon stands in the East at its turning point. And when is the moon sitting in the East at its turning point? Answer: in the fifteenth day of every month.

(6) Under them is RAHATIEL, the prince who is appointed over the constellations. And he is accompanied by 72 great and honored angels. And why is he called RAHATIEL? Because he makes the stars run (marhit) in their orbits and courses 339 thousand parasangs every night from the East to the West, and from the West to the East. For the Holy One, blessed be He, has made a tent for all of them, for the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars in which they travel at night from the West to the East.

(7) Under them is KOKBIEL, the prince who is appointed over all the planets. And with him are 365,000 myriads of ministering angels, great and honored ones who move the planets from city to city and from province to province in the Raqia’ of heavens.

(8) And over them are SEVENTY-TWO PRINCES OF KINGDOMS on high corresponding to the 72 tongues of the world. And all of them are crowned with royal crowns and clad in royal garments and wrapped in royal cloaks. And all of them are riding on royal horses and they are holding royal sceptres in their hands. And before each one of them when he is travelling in Raqia’ , royal servants are running with great glory and majesty even as on earth they (princes) are travelling in chariot(s) with horsemen and great armies and in glory and greatness with praise, song and honour.

CHAPTER XVIII

The order of ranks of the angels and the homage received by the higher ranks from the lower ones.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, the glory of all heaven, said to me:

(1) THE ANGELS OF THE FIRST HEAVEN, when(ever) they see their prince, they dismount from their horses and fall on their faces. And THE PRINCE OF THE FIRST HEAVEN, when he sees the prince of the second heaven, he dismounts, removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And THE PRINCE OF THE SECOND HEAVEN, when he sees the Prince of the third heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And THE PRINCE OF THE THIRD HEAVEN, when he sees the prince of the fourth heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And THE PRINCE OF THE FOURTH HEAVEN, when he sees the prince of the fifth heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And THE PRINCE OF THE FIFTH HEAVEN, when he sees the prince of the sixth heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And THE PRINCE OF THE SIXTH HEAVEN, when he sees the prince of the seventh heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(2) And THE PRINCE OF THE SEVENTH HEAVEN, when he sees THE SEVENTY-TWO PRINCES OF KINGDOMS, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(3) And the seventy-two princes of kingdoms, when they see THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE FIRST HALL IN THE ARABOTH RAQIA in the highest, they remove the royal crown from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE FIRST HALL, when they see the door keepers of the second Hall, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE SECOND HALL, when they see the door keepers of the third Hall, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE THIRD HALL, when they see the door keepers of the fourth Hall, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE FOURTH HALL, when they see the door keepers of the fifth Hall, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE FIFTH HALL, when they see the door keepers of the sixth Hall, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces. And THE DOOR KEEPERS OF THE SIXTH HALL, when they see the DOOR KEEPERS OF THE SEVENTH HALL, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces.

(4) And the door keepers of the seventh Hall, when they see THE FOUR GREAT PRINCES, the honored ones, WHO ARE APPOINTED OVER THE FOUR CAMPS OF SHEKINA, they remove the crown(s) of glory from their head and fall on their faces.

(5) And the four great princes, when they see TAG’AS, the prince, great and honored with song (and) praise, at the head of all thechildren of heaven, they remove the crown of glory from their head and fall on their faces.

(6) And Tag’ as, the great and honored prince, when he sees BARATTIEL, the great prince of three fingers in the height of Araboth, the highest heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(7) And Barattiel, the great prince, when he sees HAMON, the great prince, the fearful and honoured, pleasant and terrible one who maketh all the children of heaven to tremble, when the time draweth nigh (that is set) for the saying of the ‘(Thrice) Holy’, as it is written (Isa. xxxiii. 3): At the noise of the tumult (hamon) the peoples are fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(8) And Hamon, the great prince, when he sees TUTRESIEL, the great prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(9) And Tutresiel H’, the great prince, when he sees ATRUGIEL, the great prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(10) And Atrugiel the great prince, when he sees NA’ARIRIEL H’, the great prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(n) And Na’aririel H’, the great prince, when he sees SASNIGIEL H’, the great prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(12) And Sasnigiel H’, when he sees ZAZRIEL H’, the great prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(13) And Zazriel H’, the prince, when he sees GEBURATIEL H’, the prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(14) And Geburatiel H’, the prince, when he sees ‘ARAPHIEL H’, the prince, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(15) And Araphiel H’, the prince, when he sees ASHRUYLU, the prince, who presides in all the sessions of the children of heaven, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(16) And Ashruylu H, the prince, when he sees GALLISUR H’, THE PRINCE, WHO REVEALS ALL THE SECRETS OF THE LAW (Tora), he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(17) And Gallisur H’, the prince, when he sees ZAKZAKIEL H’, the prince who is appointed to write down the merits of Israel on the Throne of Glory, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face.

(18) And Zakzakiel H’, the great prince, when he sees ‘ANAPHIEL H’, the prince who keeps the keys of the heavenly Halls, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. Why is he called by the name of Anaphiel? Because the bough of his honour and majesty and his crown and his splendour and his brilliance covers (overshadows) all the chambers of Araboth Raqia on high even as the Maker of the World (doth overshadow them). Just as it is written with regard to the Maker of the World (Hab. iii. 3): His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise, even so do the honour and majesty of Anaphiel cover all the glories of Araboth the highest.

(19) And when he sees SOTHER ASHIEL H’, the prince, the great, fearful and honored one, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. Why is he called Sother Ashiel? Because he is appointed over the four heads of the fiery river over against the Throne of Glory; and every single prince who goes out or enters before the Shekina, goes out or enters only by his permission. For the seals of the fiery river are entrusted to him. And furthermore, his height is 7000 myriads of parasangs. And he stirs up the fire of the river; and he goes out and enters before the Shekina to expound what is written (recorded) concerning the inhabitants of the world. According as it is written (Dan. vii. 10): the judgement was set, and the books were opened.

(20) And Sother Ashiel the prince, when he sees SHOQED CHOZI, the great prince, the mighty, terrible and honored one, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls upon his face. And why is he called Shoqed Chozi? Because he weighs all the merits (of man) in a balance in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He.

(21) Andwhen he sees ZEHANPURYU H’,the great prince, the mighty and terrible one, honoured, glorified and feared in all the heavenly household, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. Why is he called Zehanpuryu? Because he rebukes the fiery river and pushes it back to its place.

(22) Andwhen he sees AZBUGA H’, the great prince, glorified, revered, honoured, adorned, wonderful, exalted, beloved and feared among allthe great princes who know the mystery of the Throne of Glory, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. Why is he called Azbuga? Because in the future he will gird (clothe) the righteous and pious of the world with the garments of life and wrap them in the cloak of life, that they may live in them an eternal life.

(23) And when he sees the two great princes, the strong and glorified ones who are standing above him, he removes the crown of glory from his head and falls on his face. And these are the names of the two princes: SOPHERIEL H’ (WHO) KILLETH, (Sopheriel H’ the Killer), the great prince, the honoured, glorified, blameless, venerable, ancient and mighty one; (and) SOPHERIEL H’ (WHO) MAKETH ALIVE (Sopheriel H’ the Lifegiver), the great prince, the honoured, glorified, blameless, ancient and mighty one.

(24) Why is he called Sopheriel H’ who killeth (Sopheriel H’ the Killer)? Because he is appointed over the books of the dead:[so that] everyone, when the day of his death draws nigh, he writes him in the books of the dead. Why is he called Sopheriel H’ who maketh alive (Sopheriel H’ the Lifegiver)? Because he is appointed over the books of the living (of life), so that every one whom the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring into life, he writes him in the book of the living (of life), by authority of MAQOM. Thou might perhaps say: Since the Holy One, blessed be He, is sitting on a throne, they also are sitting when writing. (Answer): The Scripture teaches us (1 Kings xxii. 19, 2 Chron. xviii. 18): And all the host of heaven are standing by him. The host of heaven  (it is said) in order to show us, that even the Great Princes, none like whom there is in the high heavens, do not fulfil the requests of the Shekina otherwise than standing. But how is it (possible that) they (are able to) write, when they are standing? It is like this:

(25) One is standing on the wheels of the tempest and the other is standing on the wheels of the storm-wind. The one is clad in kingly garments, the other is clad in kingly garments. The one is wrapped in a mantle of majesty and the other is wrapped in a mantle of majesty. The one is crowned with a royal crown, and the other is crowned with a royal crown. The one’s body is full of eyes, and the other’s body is full of eyes. The appearance of one is like unto the appearance of lightnings, and the appearance of the other is like unto the appearance of lightnings. The eyes of the one are like the sun in its might, and the eyes of the other are like the sun in its might. The one’s height is like the height of the seven heavens, and the other’s height is like the height of the seven heavens. The wings of the one are as (many as) the days of the year, and the wings of the other are as (many as) the days of the year. The wings of the one extend over the breadth of Raqia, and the wings of the other extend over the breadth of Raqia. The lips of the one, are as the gates of the East, and the lips of the other are as the gates of the East. The tongue of the one is as high as the waves of the sea, and the tongue of the other is as high as the waves of the sea. From the mouth of the one a flame goes forth, and from the mouth of the other a flame goes forth. From the mouth of the one there go forth lightnings and from the mouth of the other there go forth lightnings. From the sweat of the one fire is kindled, and from the perspiration of the other fire is kindled. From the one’s tongue a torch is burning, and from the tongue of the other a torch is burning. On the head of the one there is a sapphire stone, and upon the head of the other there is a sapphire stone. On the shoulders of the one there is a wheel of a swift cherub, and on the shoulders of the other there is a wheel of a swift cherub. One has in his hand a burning scroll, the other has in his hand a burning scroll. The one has in his hand a flaming style, the other has in his hand a flaming style. The length of the scroll is 3000 myriads of parasangs; the size of the style is 3000 myriads of parasangs; the size of every single letter that they write is 365 parasangs.

CHAPTER XIX

Rikbiel, the prince of the wheels of the Merkaba. The surroundings of the Merkaba. The commotion among the angelic hosts at the time of the Qedushsha

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above 2 these three angels, these great princes there is one Prince, distinguished, honoured, noble, glorified, adorned, fearful, valiant, strong, great, magnified, glorious, crowned, wonderful, exalted, blameless, beloved, lordly, high and lofty, ancient and mighty, like unto whom there is none among the princes. His name is RIKBIEL H’, the great and revered Prince who is standing by the Merkaba.

(2) And why is he called RIKBIEL? Because he is appointed over the wheels of the Merkaba, and they are given in his charge.

(3) And how many are the wheels? Eight; two in each direction. And there are four winds compassing them round about. And these are their names: the Storm-Wind, the Tempest, the Strong Wind, and the Wind of Earthquake.

(4) And under them four fieryrivers are continually running, one fiery river on each side. And round about them, between the rivers, four clouds are planted (placed), and these they are: clouds of fire, clouds of lamps, clouds of coal, clouds of brimstone and they are standing over against [their] wheels.

(5) And the feet of the Chayyoth are resting upon the wheels. And between one wheel and the other earthquake is roaring and thunder is thundering.

(6) And when the time draws nigh for the recital of the Song, (then) the multitudes of wheels are moved, the multitude of clouds tremble, all the chieftains (shallishim) are made afraid, all the horsemen (parashim) do rage, all the mighty ones (gibborim) are excited, all the hosts (seba’im) are afrighted, all the troops (gedudim) are in fear, all the appointed ones (memunnim) haste away, all the princes (sarim) and armies (chayyelim) are dismayed, all the servants (mesharetim) do faint and all the angels (mal’akim) and divisions (degalim) travail with pain.

(7) And one wheel makes a sound to be heard to the other and one Kerub to another, one Chayya to another, one Seraph to another (saying) (Ps. Ixviii. 5) Extol to him that rideth in ‘Araboth, by his name Jah and rejoice before him!

CHAPTER XX

CHAYYLIEL, the prince of the Chayyoth

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above these there is one great and mighty prince. His name is CHAYYLIEL H’, a noble and revered prince, a glorious and mighty prince, a great and revered prince, a prince before whom all the children of heaven do tremble, a prince who is able to swallow up the whole earth in one moment (at a mouthful).

(2) And why is he called CHAYYLIEL H’? Because he is appointed over the Holy Chayyoth and smites the Chayyoth with lashes of fire: and glorifies them, when they give praise and glory and rejoicing and he causes them to make haste to say Holy and Blessed be the Glory of H’ from his place! (i.e. the Qedushshd).

CHAPTER XXI

The Chayyoth

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Four (are) the Chayyoth corresponding to the four winds. Each Chayya is as the space of the whole world. And each one has four faces; and each face is as the face of the East.

(2) Each one has four wings and each wing is like the cover (roof) of the universe.

(3) And each one has faces in the middle of faces and wings in the middle of wings. The size of the faces is (as the size of) 248 faces, and the size of the wings is (as the size of) 365 wings.

(4) And every one is crowned with 2000 crowns on his head. And each crown is like unto the bow in the cloud. And its splendour is like unto the splendour of the globe of the sun. And the sparks that go forth from every one are like the splendour of the morning star (planet Venus) in the East.

CHAPTER XXIIa

KERUBIEL, the Prince of the Kembim.

Description of the Kerubim

R. Ishmael said; Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above these la there is one prince, noble, wonderful, strong, and praised with all kinds of praise. His name is KERUBIEL H’, a mighty prince, full of power and strength a prince of highness, and Highness (is) with him, a righteous prince, and righteousness (is) with him, a holy prince, and holiness (is) with him, a prince glorified in (by) thousand hosts, exalted by ten thousand armies.

(2) At his wrath the earth trembles, at his anger the camps are moved, from fear of him the foundations are shaken, at his rebuke the Araboth do tremble.

(3) His stature is full of (burning) coals. The height of his stature is as the height of the seven heavens the breadth of his stature is as the wideness of the seven heavens and the thickness of his stature is as the seven heavens.

(4) The opening of his mouth is like a lamp of fire. His tongue is a consuming fire. His eyebrows are like unto the splendour of the lightning. His eyes are like sparks of brilliance. His countenance is like a burning fire.

(5) And there is a crown of holiness upon his head on which (crown) the Explicit Name is graven, and hghtnings go forth from it. And the bow of Shekina is between his shoulders.

(6) And his sword is like unto a lightning; and upon his loins there are arrows like unto a flame, and upon his armour and shield there is a consuming fire, and upon his neck there are coals of burning juniper and (also) round about him (there are coals of burning juniper).

(7) And the splendour of Shekina is on his face; and the horns of majesty on his wheels; and a royal diadem upon his skull.

(8) And his body is full of eyes. And wings are covering the whole of his high stature (lit. the height of his stature is all wings).

(9) On his right hand a flame is burning, and on his left a fire is glowing; and coals are burning from it. And firebrands go forth from his body. And hghtnings are cast forth from his face. With him there is alway thunder upon (in) thunder, by his side there is ever earthquake upon (in) earthquake.

(10) And the two princes of the Merkaba are together with him.

(11) Why is he called KERUBIEL H’, the Prince. Because he is appointed over the chariot of the Kerubim. And the mighty Kerubim are given in his charge. And he adorns the crowns on their heads and polishes the diadem upon their skull.

(12)He magnifies the glory of their appearance. And he glorifies the beauty of their majesty. And he increases the greatness of their honour. He causes the song of their praise to be sung. He intensifies their beautiful strength. He causes the brilliance of their glory to shine forth. He beautifies their goodly mercy and lovingkindness. He frames the fairness of their radiance. He makes their merciful beauty even more beautiful. He glorifies their upright majesty. He extols the order of their praise, to stablish the dwellingplace of him who dwelleth on the Kerubim.

(13) And the Kerubim are standing by the Holy Chayyoth, and their wings are raised up to their heads (lit. are as the height of their heads) and Shekina is (resting) upon them and the brillianceof the Glory is upon their faces and song and praise in their mouth and their hands are under their wings and their feet are covered by their wings and horns of glory are upon their heads and the splendour of Shekina on their face and Shekina is (resting) upon them and sapphire stones are round about them and columns of fire on their four sides and columns of firebrands beside them.

(14) There is one sapphire on one side and another sapphire on another side and under the sapphires there are coals of burning juniper.

(15) And one Kerub is standing in each direction but the wings of the Kerubim compass each other above their skulls in glory; and they spread them to sing with them a song to him that inhabiteth the clouds and to praise with them the fearful majesty of the king of kings.

(16) And KERUB lEL H’, the prince who is appointed over them, he arrays them in comely, beautiful and pleasant orders and he exalts them in all manner of exaltation, dignity and glory. And he hastens them in glory and might to do the will of their Creator every moment. For above their lofty heads abides continually the glory of the high king who dwelleth on the Kerubim.

CHAPTER XXIIb

(1) And there is a court before the Throne of Glory,

(2) which no seraph nor angel can enter, and it is 36,000 myriads of parasangs, as it is written (Is.vi.2): and the Seraphim are standing above him (the last word of the scriptural passage being ‘Lamech-Vav’ [numerical value: 36]).

(3) As the numerical value Lamech-Vav (36) the number of the bridges there.

(4) And there are 24 myriads of wheels of fire. And the ministering angels are 12,000 myriads. And there are 12,000 rivers of hail, and 12,000 treasuries of snow. And in the seven Halls are chariots of fire and flames, without reckoning, or end or searching.

R. Ishmael said to me: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) How are the angels standing on high? Pie said: Like a bridge that is placed over a river so that every one can pass over it, likewise a bridge is placed from the beginning of the entry to the end.

(2) And three ministering angels surround it and utter a song before YHWH, the God of Israel. And there are standing before it lords of dread and captains of fear, thousand times thousand and ten thousand times ten thousand in number and they sing praise and hymns before YHWH, the God of Israel.

(3) Numerous bridges are there: bridges of fire and numerous bridges of hail. Also numerous rivers of hail, numerous treasuries of snow and numerous wheels offire.

(4) And how many are the ministering angels? 12,000 myriads: six (thousand myriads) above and six (thousand myriads] below. And 12,000 are the treasuries of snow, six above and six below. And 24 myriads of wheels of fire, 12 (myriads] above and 12 (myriads] below. And they surround the bridges and the rivers of fire and the rivers of hail. And there are numerous ministering angels, forming entries, for all the creatures that are standing in the midst thereof, corresponding to (over against) the paths of Raqia Shamayim.

(5) What doeth YHWH, the God of Israel, the King of Glory? The Great and Fearful God, mighty in strength, doth cover his face.

(6) In Araboth are 660,000 myriads of angels of glory standing over against the Throne of Glory and the divisions offlaming fire. And the King of Glory doth cover His face; for else the (Araboth Raqia 1 would be rent asunder in its midst because of the majesty, splendour, beauty, radiance, loveliness, brilliancy, brightness and excellency of the appearance of (the Holy One,) blessed be He.

(7) There are numerous ministering angelsperforming his will, numerous kings, numerous princes in the Araboth of his delight, angels who are revered among the rulers in heaven, distinguished, adorned with song and bringing love to remembrance: (who) are affrighted by the splendour of the Shekina, and their eyes are dazzled by the shining beauty of their King, their faces grow black and their strength doth fail.

(8) There go forth rivers ofjoy, streams of gladness, rivers of rejoicing, streams of triumph, rivers of love, streams of friendship (another reading:) of commotion and they flow over and go forth before the Throne of Glory and wax great and go through the gates of the paths of Araboth Raqia at the voice of the shouting and musick of the CHAYYOTH, at the voice of the rejoicing of the timbrels of his OPHANNIM and at the melody of the cymbals of His Kerubim. And they wax great and go forth with commotion with the sound of the hymn: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD OF HOSTS; THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY!

CHAPTER XXIIc

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Prince of the Presence said to me:

(1) What is the distance between one bridge and another? 12 myriads of parasangs. Their ascent is 12 myriads of parasangs, and their descent 12 myriads ofparasangs.

(2) (The distance) between the rivers of dread and the rivers offear is 22 myriads of parasangs; between the rivers of hail and the rivers of darkness 36 myriads of parasangs; between the chambers of lightnings and the clouds of compassion 42 myriads of parasangs; between the clouds of compassion and the Merkaba 84 myriads ofparasangs; between the Merkaba and the Kerubim 148 myriads of parasangs; between the Kerubim and the Ophannim 24 myriads of parasangs; between the Ophannim and the chambers of chambers 24 myriads of parasangs; between the chambers of chambers and the Holy Chayyoth 40,000 myriads ofparasangs; between one wing (of the Chayyoth) and another 12 myriads of parasangs; and the breadth of each one wing is of that same measure; and the distance between the Holy Chayyoth and the Throne of Glory is 30,000 myriads ofparasangs.

(3) And from the foot of the Throne to the seat there are 40,000 myriads of parasangs. And the name of Him that sitteth on it: let the name be sanctified!

(4) And the arches of the Bow are set above the ‘Araboth, and they are 1000 thousands and 10,000 times ten thousands (of parasangs) high. Their measure is after the measure of the ‘Irin and Qaddishin (Watchers and Holy Ones). As it is written (Gen. ix. 13) My bow I have set in the cloud. It is not written here I will set but I have set, (i.e.) already; clouds that surround the Throne of Glory. As His clouds pass by, the angels of hail (turn into) burning coal.

(5) And a fire of the voice goes down from by the Holy Chayyoth. And because of the breath of that voice they run (Ezek. i. 14) to another place, fearing lest it command them to go; and they return lest it injure them from the other side. Therefore they run and return (Ezek. i. 14).

(6) And these arches of the Bow are more beautiful and radiant than the radiance of the sun during the summer solstice. And they are whiter than a flaming fire and they are great and beautiful.

(7) Above the arches of the Bow are the wheels of the Ophannim. Their height is 1000 thousand and 10,000 times 10,000 units of measure after the measure of the Seraphim and the Troops (Gedudim).

CHAPTER XXIII

The winds blowing under the wings of the Kembim

R. Ishmael said; Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) There are numerous winds blowing under the wings of the Kerubim. There blows the Brooding Wind, as it is written (Gen. i. 2):  and the wind of God was brooding upon the face of the waters.

(2) There blows the Strong Wind, as it is said (Ex. xiv. 21): and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night.

(3) There blows the East Windas it is written (Ex. x. 13): the east wind brought the locusts.

(4) There blows the Wind of Quails as it is written (Num. xi. 31): And there went forth a wind from the Lord and brought quails.

(5) There blows the Wind of Jealousy as it is written (Num. v. 14): And the wind of jealousy came upon him.

(6) There blows the Wind of Earthquake as it is written (i Kings.xix. 1 1): and after that the wind of the earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

(7) There blows the Wind of H’  as it is written (Ex. xxxvii. i): and he carried me out by the wind of H’ and set me down.

(8) There blows the Evil Wind  as it is written (i Sam. xvi. 23): and the evil wind departed from him.

(9) There blow the Wind of Wisdom Sand the Wind of Understanding and the Wind of Knowledge and the Wind of the Fear of H’ as it is written (Is. xi. 2): And the wind of H’shall rest upon him; the wind of wisdom and understanding, the wind of counsel and might, the wind of knowledge and of the fear.

(10) There blows the Wind of Rain, as it is written (Prov. xxv. 23): the north wind bringeth forth rain.

(11) There blows the Wind of Lightnings , as it is written (Jer.x.l3, li. 16): he maketh lightnings for the rain and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

(12)There blows the Wind, Breaking the Rocks, as it is written (i Kings xix. n): the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind (rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord).

(13) There blows the Wind of Assuagement of the Sea, as it is written (Gen. viii. i): and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.

(14) There blows the Wind of Wrath, as it is written (Job i. 19): and behold there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house and it fell.

(15) There blows the  Storm-Wind , as it is written (Ps. cxlviii. 8): Storm-wind, fulfilling his word.

(16) And Satan is standing among these winds, for storm-wind  is nothing else but Satan, and all these winds do not blow but under the wings of the Kerubim, as it is written (Ps. xviii. n): and he rode upon a cherub and did fly, yea, and he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

(17) And whither go all these winds? The Scripture teaches us, that they go out from under the wings of the Kerubim and descend on the globe of the sun, as it is written (Eccl. i. 6):  The wind goeth toward the south and turneth about unto the north; it tumeth about continually in its course and the wind 14 returneth again to its circuits. And from the globe of the sun they return and descend upon the rivers and the seas, upon] the mountains and upon the hills, as it is written (Am.iv.13): For lo, he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind.

(18) And from the mountains and the hills they return and descend to the seas and the rivers; and from the seas and the rivers they return and descend upon (the) cities and provinces; and from the cities and provinces they return and descend into the Garden, and from the Garden they return and descend to Eden, as it is written (Gen.iii. 8): walking in the Garden in the wind of day. And in the midst of the Garden they join together and blow from one side to the other and are perfumed with the spices of the Garden even from \ts remotest parts, until they separate from each other, and, filled with the scent of the pure spices, they bring the odour from the remotest parts of Eden and the spices of the Garden to the righteous and godly who in the time to come shall inherit the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life, as it is written (Cant. iv. 16): Awake, O north wind; and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his precious fruits.

CHAPTER XXIV

The different chariots of the Holy One, blessed be He

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, the glory of all heaven, said to me:

(1) Numerous chariots has the Holy One, blessed be He: He has the Chariots of (the) Kerubim, as it is written (Ps.xviii.ll, 2 Sam.xxii.ll): And he rode upon a cherub and did fly.

(2) He has the Chariots of Wind, as it is written (ib.): and he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

(3) He has the Chariots of (the) Swift Cloud, as it is written (Is. xix. i): Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud.

(4) He has the Chariots of Clouds, as it is written (Ex. xix. 9): Lo, I come unto thee in a cloud.

(5) He has the Chariots of the Altar, as it is written (Am. ix. i): I saw the Lord standing upon the Altar.

(6) He has the Chariots of Ribbotaim, as it is written (Ps.Ixviii. 18): The chariots of God are Ribbotaim; thousands of angels.

(7) He has the Chariots of the Tent, as it is written (Deut.xxxi. 15): And the Lord appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud.

(8) He has the Chariots of the Tabernacle, as it is written (Lev. i. 1): And the Lord spake unto him out of the tabernacle.

(9) He has the Chariots of the Mercy-Seat, as it is written (Num. vii. 89): then he heard the Voice speaking unto him from upon the mercy-seat.

(10) He has the Chariots of Sapphire Stone, as it is written (Ex. xxiv. 10): and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone.

(11) He has the Chariots of Eagles , as it is written (Ex. xix. 4): I bare you on eagles’ wings. Eagles literally are not meant here but they that fly swiftly as eagles.

(12)He has the chariots of Shout, as it is written (Ps. xlvii. 6): God is gone up with a shout.

(13) He has the Chariots of Araboth, as it is written (Ps.Ixviii. 5): Extol Him that rideth upon the Araboth.

(14) He has the Chariots of Thick Clouds, as it is written (Ps. civ. 3): who maketh the thick clouds His chariot.

(15) He has the Chariots of the Chayyoth, as it is written (Ezek. i. 14): and the Chayyoth ran and returned. They run by permission and return by permission, for Shekina is above their heads.

(16) He has the Chariots of Wheels (Galgallim), as it is written (Ezek. x. 2): And he said: Go in between the whirling wheels.

(17) lie has the Chariots of a Swift Kerub, as it is written (Ps.xviii.lO & Is.xix.l): riding on a swift cherub. And at the time when He rides on a swift kerub, as he sets one of His feet upon him, before he sets the other foot upon his back, he looks through eighteen thousand worlds at one glance. And he discerns and sees into them all and knows what is in all of them and then he sets down the other foot upon him, according as it is written (Ezek. xlviii. 35): Round about eighteen thousand. Whence do we know that He looks through every one of them every day? It is written (Ps. xiv. 2): He looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek after God.

(18) He has the Chariots of the Ophannim, as it is written (Ezek. X. 12): and the Ophannim were full of eyes round about.

(19) He has the Chariots of His Holy Throne, as it is written (Ps. xlvii. 8):  God sitteth upon his holy throne.

(20) He has the chariots of the Throne of Yah, as it is written (Ex. xvii. 16): Because a hand is lifted up upon the Throne of Jah.

(21) He has the Chariots of the Throne of Judgement, as it is written (Is. v. 16): but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment.

(22) He has the Chariots of the Throne of Glory , as it is written (Jer. xvii. 12): The Throne of Glory, set on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.

(23) He has the Chariots of the High and Exalted Throne, as it is written (Is. vi. i): I saw the Lord sitting upon the high and exalted throne.

CHAPTER XXV

Ophphanniel, the prince of the Ophannim. Description of the Ophannim.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above these there is one great prince, revered, high, lordly, fearful, ancient and strong. OPHPHANNIEL H is his name.

(2) He has sixteen faces, four faces on each side, (also) hundred wings on each side. And he has 8466 eyes, corresponding to the days of the year. [2190 -and some say 2116- on each side.] [2191 /2196 and sixteen on each side.]

(3) And those two eyes of his face, in each one of them lightnings are flashing, and from each one of them firebrands are burning; and no creature is able to behold them:for anyone who looks at them is burnt instantly.

(4) His height is (as) the distance of 2500 years’ journey. No eye can behold and no mouth can tell the mighty power of his strength save the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, alone.

(5) Why is he called ‘OPHPHANNIEL ? Because he is appointed over the Ophannim and the Ophannimare given in his charge. He stands every day and attends and beautifies them. And he exalts and orders their apartment and polishes their standing-place and makes bright their dwellings, makes their corners even and cleanses their seats. And he waits upon them early and late, by day and by night, to increase their beauty, to make great their dignity and to make them diligent in praise of their Creator.

(6) And all the Ophannim are full of eyes, and they are all full of brightness; seventy two sapphire stones are fixed on their garments on their right side and seventy two sapphire stones are fixed on their garments on their left side.

(7) And four carbuncle stones are fixed on the crown of every single one, the splendour of which proceeds in the four directions of Araboth even as the splendour of the globe of the sun proceeds in all the directions of the universe. And why is it called Carbuncle (Bareqet)? Because its splendour is like the appearance of a lightning (Baraq). And tents of splendour, tents of brilliance, tents of brightness as of sapphire and carbuncle inclose them because of the shining appearance of their eyes.

CHAPTER XXVI

SERAPHIEL, the Prince of the Seraphim. Description of the Seraphim

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above these there is one prince, wonderful, noble, great, honourable, mighty, terrible, a chief and leader 1 and a swift scribe, glorified, honored and beloved.

(2) He is altogether filled with splendour, full of praise and shining; and he is wholly full of brilliance, of light and of beauty; and the whole of him is filled with goodliness and greatness.

(3) His countenance is altogether like (that of) angels, but his body is like an eagle’s body.

(4) His splendour is like unto lightnings, his appearance like fire brands, his beauty like unto sparks, his honour like fiery coals, his majesty like chashmals, his radiance like the light of the planet Venus. The image of him is like unto the Greater Light. His height is as the seven heavens. The light from his eyebrows is like the sevenfold light.

(5) The sapphire stone upon his head is as great as the whole universe and like unto the splendour of the very heavens in radiance.

(6) His body is full of eyes like the stars of the sky, innumerable and unsearchable. Every eye is like the planet Venus. Yet, there are some of them like the Lesser Light and some of them like unto the Greater Light. From his ankles to his knees (they are) like unto stars of lightning, from his knees to his thighs like unto the planet Venus, from his thighs to his loins like unto the moon, from his loins to his neck like the sun, from his neck to his skull like unto the Light Imperishable. (Cf. Zeph. iii. 5.)

(7) The crown on his head is like unto the splendour of the Throne of Glory. The measure of the crown is the distance of 502 years’ journey. There is no kind of splendour, no kind of brilliance, no kind of radiance, no kind of light in the universe but is fixed on that crown.

(8) The name of that prince is SERAPHIEL H. And the crown on his head, its name is the Prince of Peace. And why is he called by the name of SERAPHIEL ‘? Because he is appointed over the Seraphim. And the flaming Seraphim are given in his charge. And he presides over them by day and by night and teaches them song, praise, proclamation of beauty, might and majesty; that they may proclaim the beauty of their King in all manner of Praise and Sanctification (Qedushsha).

(9) How many are the Seraphim? Four, corresponding to the four winds of the world. And how many wings have they each one of them? Six, corresponding to the six days of Creation. And how many faces have they? Each one of them four faces.

(10) The measure of the Seraphim and the height of each one of them correspond to the height of the seven heavens. The size of each wing is like the measure of all Raqia’. The size of each face is like that of the face of the East.

(11) And each one of them gives forth light like unto the splendour of the Throne of Glory: so that not even the Holy Chayyoth, the honored Ophannim, nor the majestic KeruUm are able to behold it. For everyone who beholds it, his eyes are darkened because of its great splendour.

(12) Why are they called Seraphim? Because they burn (saraph) the writing tables of Satan: Every day Satan is sitting, together with SAMMAEL, the Prince of Rome, and with DUBBIEL, the Prince of Persia, and they write the iniquities of Israel on writing tables which they hand over to the Seraphim, in order that they may present them before the Holy One, blessed be He, so that He may destroy Israel from the world. But the Seraphim know from the secrets of the Holy One, blessed be He, that he desires not, that this people Israel should perish. What do the Seraphim? Every day do they receive (accept) them from the hand of Satan and burn them in the burning fire over against the high and exalted Throne in order that they may not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, at the time when he is sitting upon the Throne of Judgement, judging the whole world in truth.

CHAPTER XXVII

RADWERIEL, the keeper of the Book of Records

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel of H’ , the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above the Seraphim there is one prince, exalted above all the princes, wondrous more than all the servants. His name is RADWERIEL H’ who is appointed over the treasuries of the books.

(2) He fetches forth the Case of Writings (with) the Book of Records in it, and brings it before the Holy One, blessed be He. And he breaks the seals of the case, opens it, takes out the books and delivers them before the Holy One, blessed be He. And the Holy One, blessed be He, receives them of his hand and gives them in his sight to the Scribes, that they may read them in the Great Beth Din (The court of justice) in the height of ‘Araboth Raqia’, before the heavenly household.

(3) And why is he called RADWERIEL? Because out of every word that goes forth from his mouth an angel is created:and he stands in the songs (in the singing company) of the ministering angels and utters a song before the Holy One, blessed be He when the time draws nigh for the recitation of the (Thrice) Holy.

CHAPTER XXVIII

The ‘Irin and Qaddishin

R. Ishmael said:Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Above all these there are four great princes, Irin and Qaddishin by name; high, honoured, revered, beloved, wonderful and glorious ones, greater than all the children of heaven. There is none like unto them among all the celestial princes and none their equal among all the Servants. For each one of them is equal to all the rest together.

(2) And their dwelling is over against the Throne of Glory, and their standing place over against the Holy One, blessed be He, so that the briUiance of their dwelling is a reflection of the brilliance of the Throne of Glory. And the splendour of their countenance is a reflection of the splendour of Shekina.

(3) And they are glorified by the glory of 4the Divine Majesty (Gebura) and praised by (through) the praise of Shekina.

(4) And not only that, but the Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing in his world without first consulting them, but after that he doeth it. As it is written (Dan. iv. 17): The sentence is by the decree of the Irin and the demand by the word of the Qaddishin.

(5) The Urin are two and the Qaddishin are two. And how are they standing before the Holy One, blessed be He? It is to be understood, that one ‘Ir is standing on one side and the other Ir on the other side, and one Qaddish is standing on one side and the other on the other side.

(6) And ever do they exalt the humble, and they abase to the ground those that are proud, and they exalt to the height those that are humble.

(7) And every day, as the Holy One, blessed be He, is sitting upon the Throne of Judgement and judges the whole world, and the Books of the Living and the Books of the Dead are opened before Him, then all the children of heaven are standing before him in fear, dread, awe and trembling. At that time, (when) the Holy One, blessed be He, is sitting upon the Throne of Judgement to execute judgement, his garment is white as snow, the hair on his head as pure wool and the whole of his cloak is like the shining light. And he is covered with righteousness all over as with a coat of mail.

(8) And those Irm and Qaddishin are standing before him like court officers before the judge. And they raise and argue every case and close the case that comes before the Holy One, blessed be He, in judgement, according as it is written (Dan. iv. 17): The sentence is by the decree of the Irm and the demand by the word of the Qaddishin

(9) Some of them argue and others pass the sentence in the Great Beth Din in Araboth. Some of them make the requests from before uthe Divine Majesty and some close the cases before the Most High. Others finish by going down and (confirming ) executing the sentences on earth below. According as it is written (Dan. iv. 13 , 14):  Behold an Ir and a Qaddishcame down from heaven and cried aloud and said thus. Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.

(10) Why are they called Irin and Qaddishint By reason that they sanctify the body and the spirit with lashes of fire on the third day of the judgement, as it is written (Hos. vi. 2): After two days will he revive us:on the third he will raise us up, and we shall live before him.

CHAPTER XXIX

Description of a class of angels

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Each one of them has seventy names corresponding to the seventy tongues of the world. And all of them are (based) upon the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And every several name is written with a flaming style upon the Fearful Crown (Keiher Nora) which is on the head of the high and exalted King.

(2) And from each one of them there go forth sparks and lightnings. And each one of them is beset with horns of splendour round about. From each one lights are shining forth, and each one is surrounded by tents of brilliance so that not even the Seraphim and the Chayyoth who are greater than all the children of heaven are able to behold them.

CHAPTER XXX

The 72 princes of Kingdoms and the Prince of the World officiating at the Great Sanhedrin in heaven

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Whenever the Great Beth Din is seated in the Araboth Raqia’ on high there is no opening of the mouth for anyone in the world save those great princes who are called H’ by the name of the Holy One, blessed be He.

(2) How many are those princes? Seventy-two princes of the kingdoms of the world besides the Prince of the World who speaks (pleads) in favour of the world before the Holy One, blessed be He, every day, at the hour when the book is opened in which are recorded all the doings of the world, according as it is written (Dan.vii.lO): The judgement was set and the books were opened.

CHAPTER XXXI

(The attributes of) Justice, Mercy and Truth by the Throne of Judgement

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) At the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, is sitting on the Throne, of Judgement, (then) Justice is standing on His right and Mercy on His left and Truth before His face.

(2) And when man enters before Him to judgement, (then) there comes forth from the splendour of the Mercy towards him as (it were) a staff and stands in front of him. Forthwith man falls upon his face, (and) all the angels of destruction fear and tremble before him, according as it is written (Is.xvi. 5): And with mercy shall the throne be established, and he shall sit upon it in truth.

CHAPTER XXXII

The execution ofjudgement on the wicked. God’s sword.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) When the Holy One, blessed be He, opens the Book half of which is fire and half flame, (then) they go out from before Him in every moment to execute the judgement on the wicked by His sword (that is) drawn forth out of its sheath and the splendour of which shines like a lightning and pervades the world from one end to the other, as it is written (Is. Ixvi. 16): For by fire will the Lord plead (and by his sword with all flesh).

(2) And all the inhabitants of the world (lit. those who come into the world) fear and tremble before Him, when they behold His sharpened sword like unto a hghtning from one end of the world to the other, and sparks and flashes of the size of the stars of Raqia’ going out from it; according as it is written (Deut. xxxii. 41):  If I whet the hghtning of my sword.

CHAPTER XXXIII

The angels of Mercy, of Peace and of Destruction by the Throne ofJudgement. The scribes, (vss. i, 2) The angels by the Throne of Glory and the fiery rivers under it. (vss. 3-5)

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, is sitting on the Throne of Judgement, (then) the angels of Mercy are standing on His right, the angels of Peace are standing on His left and the angels of Destruction are standing in front of Him.

(2) And one scribe is standing beneath Him, and another scribe above Him.

(3) And the glorious Seraphim surround the Throne on its four sides with walls of lightnings, and the Ophannim. surround them with fire-brands round about the Throne of Glory. And clouds of fire and clouds of flames compass them to the right and to the left; and the Holy Chayyoth carry the Throne of Glory from below: each one with three fingers. The measure of the fingers of each one is 800,000 and 700 times hundred, (and) 66,000 parasangs.

(4) And underneath the feet of the Chayyoth seven fiery rivers are running and flowing. And the breadth of each river is 365 thousand parasangs and its depth is 248 thousand myriads of parasangs. Its length is unsearchable and immeasureable.

(5) And each river turns round in a bow in the four directions of Araboth Raqict, and (from there) it falls down to Ma’on and is stayed, and from Mai on to Zebul, from Zebul to Shechaqim, from Shechaqim to Raqia’ , from Raqia’ to Shamayim and from Shamayim upon the heads of the wicked who are in Gehenna, as it is written (Jer. xxiii. 19): Behold a whirlwind of the Lord, even his fury, is gone, yea, a whirling tempest; it shall burst upon the head of the wicked.

CHAPTER XXXIV

The different concentric circles round the Chayyoth, consisting offire, water, hailstones etc. and of the angels uttering the Qedushsha responsorium

R. Ishmael said: Metatron; the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) The hoofs of the Chayyoth are surrounded by seven clouds of burning coals. The clouds of burning coals are surrounded on the outside by seven walls of flame(s). The seven walls of flame(s) are surrounded on the outside by seven walls of hailstones (stones of ‘Et-gabish, Ezek. xiii. 11,13, xxviii. 22). The hailstones are surrounded on the outside by xstones of hail (stone of Barad). The stones of hail are surrounded on the outside by stones of the wings of the tempest. The stones of the wings of the tempest are surrounded on the outside by flames of fire. The flames of fire are surrounded by the chambers of the whirlwind. The chambers of the whirlwind are surrounded on the outside by the fire and the water.

(2) Round about the fire and the water are those who utter the Holy. Round about those who utter the Holy are those who utter the Blessed’. Round about those who utter the Blessed are the bright clouds. The bright clouds are surrounded on the outside by coals of burning jumper; and on the outside surrounding the coals of burning juniper there are thousand camps of fire and ten thousand hosts of flame(s). And between every several camp and every several host there is a cloud, so that they may not be burnt by the fire.

CHAPTER XXXV

The camps of angels in ‘Araboth Raqia: angels, performing the Qedushsha.

1 R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) 506 thousand myriads of camps has the Holy One, blessed be He, in the height of Araboth Raqia. And each camp is (composed of) 496 thousand angels.

(2) And every single angel, the height of his stature is as the great sea; and the appearance of their countenance as the appearance of the lightning, and their eyes as lamps of fire, and their arms and their feet like in colour to polished brass and the roaring voice of their words like the voice of a multitude.

(3) And they are all standing before the Throne of Glory in four rows. And the princes of the army are standing at the head of each row.

(4) And some of them utter the Holy and others utter the Blessed, some of them run as messengers, others are standing in attendance, according as it is written (Dan. vii. 10): Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him:the judgment was set and the books were opened.

(5) And in the hour, when the time draws nigh for to say the Holy, (then) first there goes forth a whirlwind from before the Holy One, blessed be He, and bursts upon the camp of Shekina and there arises a great commotion among them, as it is written (Jer.xxx. 23): Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing commotion.

(6) At that moment 4thousand thousands of them are changed into sparks, thousand thousands of them into firebrands, thousand thousands into flashes, thousand thousands into flames, thousand thousands into males, thousand thousands into females, thousand thousands into winds, thousand thousands into burning fires, thousand thousands into flames, thousand thousands into sparks, thousand thousands into chashmals of light; until they take upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, the high and lifted up, of the Creator of them all with fear, dread, awe and trembling, with commotion, anguish, terror and trepidation. Then they are changed again into their former shape to have the fear of their King before them alway, as they have set their hearts on saying the Song continually, as it is written (Is. vi. 3): And one cried unto another and said (Holy, Holy, Holy, etc.).

CHAPTER XXXVI

The angels bathe in the fiery river before reciting the ‘Song’

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me;

(1) At the time when the ministering angels desire to say (the) Song, (then) Nehar di-Nur (the fiery stream) rises with many thousand thousands and myriads of myriads (of angels) of power and strength of fire and it runs and passes under the Throne of Glory, between the camps of the ministering angels and the troops of Araboth.

(2) And all the ministering angels first go down into Nehar di-Nur, and they dip themselves in the fire and dip their tongue and their mouth seven times; and after that they go up and put on the garment of ‘Machaqe Samal’ and cover themselves with cloaks of chashmal and stand in four rows over against the Throne of Glory, in all the heavens.

CHAPTER XXXVII

The four camps of Shekina and their surroundings

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) In the seven Halls there are standing four chariots of Shekina, and before each one are standing the four camps of Shekina. Between each camp a river of fire is continually flowing.

(2) Between each river there are bright clouds [surrounding them], and between each cloud there are put up pillars of brimstone. Between one pillar and another there are standing flaming wheels, surrounding them. And between one wheel and another there are flames of fire round about. Between one flame and another there are treasuries of lightnings; behind the treasuries of lightnings are the wings of the stormwind. Behind the wings of the storm-wind are the chambers of the tempest; behind the chambers of the tempest there are winds, voices, thunders, sparks [upon] sparks and earthquakes [upon] earthquakes.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

The fear that befalls all the heavens at the sound of the ‘Holy? esp. the heavenly bodies. These appeased by the Prince of the World.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) At the time, when the ministering angels utter (the Thrice) Holy, then all the pillars of the heavens and their sockets do tremble, and the gates of the Halls of Araboth Raqia’ are shaken and the foundations of Shechaqim and the Universe (Tebel) are moved, and the orders of Ma’on and the chambers of Makon quiver, and all the orders of Raqia and the constellations and the planets are dismayed, and the globes of the sun and the moon haste away and flee out of their courses and run 12,000 parasangs and seek to throw themselves down from heaven,

(2) by reason of the roaring voice of their chant, and the noise of their praise and the sparks and lightnings that go forth from their faces; as it is written (Ps. Ixxvii. 18): The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven (the lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled and shook).

(3) Until the prince of the world calls them, saying: Be ye quiet in your place! Fear not because of the ministering angels who sing the Song before the Holy One, blessed be He. As it is written (Job.xxxviii. 7): When the morning stars sang together and all the children of heaven shouted for joy.

CHAPTER XXXIX

The explicit names fly offfrom the Throne and all the various angelic hosts prostrate themselves before it at the time of the Qedushsha.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) When the ministering angels utter the Holy then all the explicit names that are graven with a flaming style on the Throne of Glory fly off like eagles, with sixteen wings. And they surround and compass the Holy One, blessed be He, on the four sides of the place of His Shekinal.

(2) And the angels of the host, and the flaming Servants, and the mighty Ophannim, and the Kerubim of the Shekina, and the Holy Chayyoth, and the Seraphim, and the ‘Er’ellim, and the Taphsarim and the troops of consuming fire, and the fiery armies, and the flaming hosts, and the holy princes, adorned with crowns, clad in kingly majesty, wrapped in glory, girt with loftiness, 4 fall upon their faces three times, saying: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

CHAPTER XL

The ministering angels rewarded with crowns, when uttering the Holy ‘ ‘ in its right order, and punished by consuming fire if not. New ones created in the stead of the consumed angels.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) When the ministering angels say Holy before the Holy One, blessed be He, in the proper way, then the servants of His Throne, the attendants of His Glory, go forth with great mirth from under the Throne of Glory.

(2) And they all carry in their hands, each one of them thousand thousand and ten thousand times ten thousand crowns of stars, similar in appearance to the planet Venus, and put them on the ministering angels and the great princes who utter the Holy. Three crowns they put on each one of them: one crown because they say Holy, another crown, because they say Holy, Holy, and a third crown because they say Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts.

(3) And in the moment that they do not utter the Holy in the right order, a consuming fire goes forth from the little finger of the Holy One, blessed be He, and falls down in the midst of their ranksand is divided into 496 thousand parts corresponding to the four camps of the ministering angels, and consumes them in one moment, as it is written (Ps. xcvii. 3): A fire goeth before him and burneth up his adversaries round about.

(4) After that the Holy One, blessed be He, opens His mouth and speaks one word and creates others in their stead, new ones like them. And each one stands before His Throne of Glory, uttering the Holy, as it is written (Lam. iii. 23): They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.

CHAPTER XLI

Metatron shows R. Ishmael the letters engraved on the Throne of Glory by which letters everything in heaven and earth has been created.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Come and behold the letters by which the heaven and theearth were created, the letters by which were created the mountains and hills, the letters by which were created the seas and rivers, the letters by which were created the trees and herbs, the letters by which were created the planets and the constellations, the letters by which were created the globe of the moon and the globe of the sun, Orion, the Pleiades and all the different luminaries of Raqia.

(2) the letters by which were created the Throne of Glory and the Wheels of the Merkaba, the letters by which were created the necessities of the worlds,

(3) the letters by which were created wisdom, understanding, knowledge, prudence, meekness and righteousness by which the whole world is sustained.

(4) And I walked by his side and he took me by his hand and raised me upon his wings and showed me those letters, all of them, that are graven with a flaming style on the Throne of Glory:and sparks go forth from them and cover all the chambers of ‘Araboth.

CHAPTER XLII

Instances of polar opposites kept in balance by several Divine Names and other similar wonders.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Come and I will show thee, where the waters are suspended in the highest, where fire is burning in the midst of hail, where lightnings lighten out of the midst of snowy mountains, where thunders are roaring in the celestial heights, where a flame is burning in the midst of the burning fire and where voices make themselves heard in the midst of thunder and earthquake.

(2) Then I went by his side and he took me by his hand and hfted me up on his wings and showed me all those things. I beheld the waters suspended on high in Araboth Raqia’ by (force of) the name YAH ‘EHYE ASHER ‘EHYE (Jah, I am that I am). And their fruits going down from heaven and watering the face of the world, as it is written (Ps.civ.13): (He watereth the mountains from his chambers:) the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.

(3) And I saw fire and snow and hailstone that were mingled together within each other and yet were undamaged, by (force of) the name ‘ESH ‘OKELA (consuming fire), as it is written (Deut. iv. 24): For the Lord, thy God, is a consuming fire.

(4) And I saw lightnings that were hghtening out of mountains of snow and yet were not damaged (quenched), by (force of) the name YAH SUR ‘OLAMIM (Jah, the everlasting rock), as it is written (Is. xxvi. 4): For in Jah, YHWH, the everlasting rock.

(5) And I saw thunders and voices that were roaring in the midst of fiety flames and were not damaged (silenced), by (force of) the name ‘EL-SHADDAI RABBA (the Great God Almighty) as it is written (Gen. xvii. i): I am God Almighty.

(6) And I beheld a flame (and) a glow (glowing flames) that were flaming and glowing in the midst of burning fire, and yet were not damaged (devoured), by (force of) the name YAD ‘AL KES YAH (the hand upon the Throne of the Lord) as it is written (Ex. xvii. 16):  And he said: for the hand is upon the Throne of the Lord.

(7) And I beheld rivers of fire in the midst of rivers of water and they were not damaged (quenched) by (force of) the name ‘OSE SHALOM (Maker of Peace) as it is written (Job xxv. 2): He maketh peace in his high places. For he makes peace between the fire and the water, between the hail and the fire, between the wind and the cloud, between the earthquake and the sparks.

CHAPTER XLIII

Metatron shows R. Ishmael the abode of the unborn spirits and of the spirits of the righteous dead.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron said to me:

(1) Come and I will show thee Iwhere arel the spirits of the righteous that have been created and have returned, and the spirits of the righteous that have not yet been created.

(2) And he lifted me up to his side, took me by his hand and hfted me up near the Throne of Glory by the place of the Shekina; and he revealed the Throne of Glory to me, and he showed me the spirits that have been created and had returned:and they were flying above the Throne of Glory before the Holy One, blessed be He.

(3) After that I went to interpret the following verse of Scripture and I found in what is written (Isa.Ivii. 16): for the spirit clothed itself before me, and the souls I have made that (for the spirit was clothed before me) means the spirits that have been created in the chamber of creation of the righteous and that have returned before the Holy One, blessed be He; (and the words:) and the souls I have made refer to the spirits of the righteous that have not yet been created in the chamber

CHAPTER XLIV

Metatron shows R. Ishmael the abode of the wicked and the intermediate in Sheol. (vss. 1-6) The Patriarchs pray for the deliverance of Israel (vss. 7-10).

R. Ishmael said: Metatron, x the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:

(1) Come and I will show thee the spirits of the wicked and the spirits of the intermediate where they are standing, and the spirits of the intermediate, whither they go down, and the spirits of the wicked, where they go down.

(2) And he said to me:The spirits of the wicked go down to She’ol by the hands of two angels of destruction: ZAAPHIEL and SIMKIEL are their names.

(3) SIMKIEL is appointed over the intermediate to support them and purify them because of the great mercy of the Prince of the Place (Maqom). ZAAPHIEL is appointed over the spirits of the wicked in order to cast them down from the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, and from the splendour of the Shekina to She’ol, to be punished in the fire of Gehenna with staves of burning coal.

(4) And I went by his side, and he took me by his hand and showed me all of them with his fingers.

(5) And I beheld the appearance of their faces (and, lo, it was) as the appearance of children of men, and their bodies like eagles. And not only that but (furthermore) the colour of the countenance of the intermediate was like pale grey on account of their deeds, for there are stains upon them until they have become cleaned from their iniquity in the fire.

(6) And the colour of the wicked was like the bottom of a pot on account of the wickedness of their doings.

(7) And I saw the spirits of the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the rest of the righteous whom they have brought up out of their graves and who have ascended to the Heaven (Raqirf). And they were praying before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying intheir prayer: Lord of the Universe! How long wilt thou sit upon (thy) Throne like a mourner in the days of his mourning with thy right hand behind thee and not deliver thy children and reveal thy Kingdom in the world? And for how long wilt thou have no pity upon thy children who are made slaves among the nations of the world? Nor upon thy right hand that is behind thee wherewith thou didst stretch out the heavens and the earth and the heavens of heavens? When wilt thou have compassion?

(8) Then the Holy One, blessed be He, answered every one of them, saying: Since these wicked do sin so and so, and transgress with such and such transgressions against me, how could I deliver my great Right Hand in the downfall by their hands (caused by them).

(9) In that moment Metatron called me and spake to me: My servant! Take the books, and read their evil doings! Forthwith I took the books and read their doings and there were to be found 36 transgressions (written down) with regard to each wicked one and besides, that they have transgressed all the letters in the Tora, as it is written (Dan. ix. u): Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy Law. It is not written ‘al torateka but ‘et (JIN) torateka, for they have transgressed from ‘Aleph to Taw, 40 statutes have they transgressed for each letter.

(10) Forthwith Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wept. Then said to them the Holy One, blessed be He: Abraham, my beloved, Isaac, my Elect one, Jacob, my firstborn! How can I now deliver them from among the nations of the world? And forthwith MIKAEL, the Prince of Israel, cried and wept with a loud voice and said (Ps. x. i): Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?

CHAPTER XLV

Metatron shows R. Ishmael past andfuture events recorded on the Curtain of the Throne.

R. Ishmael said: Metatron said to me:

(1) Come, and I will show thee the Curtain of MAQOM (the Divine Majesty) which is spread before the Holy One, blessed be He, (and) whereon are graven all the generations of the world and all their doings, both what they have done and what they will do until the end of all generations.

(2) And I went, and he showed it to me pointing it out with his fingers Mike a father who teaches his children the letters of Tora. And I saw each generation, the rulers of each generation, and the heads of each generation, the shepherds of each generation, the oppressors (drivers) of each generation, the keepers of each generation, the scourgers of each generation, the overseers of each generation, the judges of each generation, the court officers of each generation, the teachers of each generation, the supporters of each generation, the chiefs of each generation, the presidents of academies of each generation, the magistrates of each generation, the princes of each generation, the counsellors of each generation, the nobles of each generation, and the men of might of each generation, the elders of each generation, and the guides of each generation.

(3) And I saw Adam, his generation, their doings and their thoughts,Noah and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, and the generation of the flood, their doings and their thoughts, Shem and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Nimrod and the generation of the confusion of tongues, and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Abraham and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Isaac and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Ishmael and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Jacob and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Joseph and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, the tribes and their generation, their doings and their thoughts, Amram and his generation, their doings and their thoughts, Moses and his generation, their doings and their thoughts,

(4) Aaron and Mirjam their works and their doings, the princes and the elders, their works and doings, Joshua and his generation, their works and doings, the judges and their generation, their works and doings, Eli and his generation, their works and doings, Phinehas, their works and doings, Elkanah and his generation, their works and their doings, Samuel and his generation, their works and doings, the kings of Judah with their generations, their works and their doings, the kings of Israel and their generations, their works and their doings, the princes of Israel, their works and their doings; the princes of the nations of the world, their works and their doings, the heads of the councils of Israel, their works and their doings; the heads of (the councils in) the nations of the world, their generations, their works and their doings; the rulers of Israel and their generation, their works and their doings; the nobles of Israel and their generation, their works and their doings; the nobles of the nations of the world and their generation(s), their works and their doings; the men of reputation in Israel, their generation, their works and their doings; the judges of Israel, their generation, their works and their doings; the judges of the nations of the world and their generation, their works and their doings; the teachers of children in Israel, their generations, their works and their doings; the teachers of children in the nations of the world, their generations, their works and their doings; the counsellors (interpreters) of Israel, their generation, their works and their doings; the counsellors (interpreters) of the nations of the world, their generation, their works and their doings; all the prophets of Israel, their generation, their works and their doings; all the prophets of the nations of the world, their generation, their works and their doings;

(5) and all the fights and wars that the nations 16 of the world wrought against the people of Israel in the time of their kingdom. And I saw Messiah, son of Joseph, and his generation and their works and their doings that they will do against the nations of the world. And I saw Messiah, son of David, and his generation, and all the fights and wars, and their works and their doings that they will do with Israel both for good and evil. And I saw all the fights and wars that Gog and Magog will fight in the days of Messiah, and all that the Holy One, blessed be He, will do with them in the time to come.

(6) And all the rest of all the leaders of the generations and all the works of the generations both in Israel and in the nations of the world, both what is done and what will be done hereafter to all generations until the end of time, (all) were graven on the Curtain of MAQOM. And I saw all these things with my eyes; and after I had seen it, I opened my mouth in praise of MAQOM (the Divine Majesty) (saying thus, Eccl. viii. 4, 5): For the King’s word hath power (and who may say unto him: What doest thou?) Whoso keepeth the commandments shall know no evil thing. And I said: (Ps. civ. 24) O Lord, how manifold are thy works!.

CHAPTER XLVI

The place of the stars shown to R. Ishmael.

R. Ishmael said:Metatron said to me:

(1) (Come and I will show thee) the space of the stars a that are standing in Raqia’ night by night in fear of the Almighty (MAQOM) and (I will show thee) where they go and where they stand.

(2) I walked by his side, and he took me by his hand and pointed out all to me with his fingers. And they were standing on sparks of flames round the Merkaba of the Almighty (MAQOM). What did Metatron do? At that moment he clapped his hands and chased them off from their place. Forthwith they flew off on flaming wings, rose and fled from the four sides of the Throne of the Merkaba, and (as they flew) he told me the names of every single one. As it is written (Ps. cxlvii. 4):  He telleth the number of the stars; he giveth them all their names, teaching, that the Holy One, blessed be He, has given a name to each one of them.

(3) And they all enter in counted order under the guidance of (lit. through, by the hands of) RAHATIEL to Raqia’ ha-shSHamayim to serve the world. And they go out in counted order to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, with songs and hymns, according as it is written (Ps. xix. i): The heavens declare the glory of God.

(4) But in the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will create them anew, as it is written (Lam. iii. 23): They are new every morning. And they open their mouth and utter a song. Which is the song that they utter? (Ps. viii. 3): When I consider thy heavens.

CHAPTER XLVII

Metatron shows R. Ishmael the spirits of the punished angels.

R. Ishmael said; Metatron said to me;

(1) Come and I will show thee the souls of the angels and the spirits of the ministering servants whose bodies have been burnt in the fire of MAQOM (the Almighty) that goes forth from his little finger. And they have been made into fiery coals in the midst of the fiery river (Nehar di-Nur). But their spirits and their souls are standing behind the Shekina.

(2) Whenever the ministering angels utter a song at a wrong timeor as not appointed to be sung they are burnt and consumed by the fire of their Creator and by a flame from their Maker, in the places (chambers) of the whirlwind, for it blows upon them and drives them into the Nehar di-Nur; and there they are made into numerous mountains of burning coal. But their spirit and their soul return to their Creator, and all are standing behind their Master.

(3) And I went by his side and he took me by his hand; and he showed me all the souls of the angels and the spirits of the ministering servants who were standing behind the Shekina upon wings of the whirlwind and walls of fire surrounding them.

(4) At that moment Metatron opened to me the gates of the walls within which they were standing behind the Shekina, And I lifted up my eyes and saw them, and behold, the likeness of every one was as (that of) angels and their wings hke birds’ (wings), made out of flames, the work of burning fire. In that moment I opened my mouth in praise of MAQOM and said (Ps. xcii. 5): How great are thy works, O Lord.

CHAPTER XL VIII(a)

Metatron shows R. Ishmael the Right Hand of the Most High, now inactive behind Him, but in the future destined to work the deliverance of Israel.

R. Ishmael said; Metatron said to me;

(1) Come, and I will show thee the Right Hand of MAQOM, laid behind (Him) because of the destruction of the Holy Temple; from which all kinds of splendour and light shine forth and by which the 955 heavens were created; and whom not even the Seraphim and the Ophannim are permitted (to behold), until the day of salvation shall arrive.

(2) And I went by his side and he took me by his hand and showed me (the Right Hand of MAQOM), with all manner of praise, rejoicing and song: and no mouth can tell its praise, and no eye can behold it, because of its greatness, dignity, majesty, glory and beauty.

(3)And not only that, but all the souls of the righteous who are counted worthy to behold the joy of Jerusalem, they are standing by it, praising and praying before it three times every day, saying (Is.li.9): Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the Lord according as it is written (Is. Ixiii. 12): He caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses.

(4) In that moment the Right Hand of MAQOM was weeping. And there went forth from its five fingers five rivers of tears and fell down into the great sea and shook the whole world, according as it is written (Is. xxiv. 19, 20): The earth is utterly broken (1), the earth is clean dissolved (2), the earth is moved exceedingly (3), the earth shall stagger like a drunken man (4) and shall be moved to and fro like a hut (5), five times corresponding to the fingers of his Great Right Hand.

(5) But when the Holy One, blessed be He, sees, that there is no righteous man in the generation, and no pious man (Chasid] on earth, and no justice in the hands of men; and (that there is) no man like unto Moses, and no intercessor as Samuel who could pray before MAQOM for the salvation and for the deliverance, and for His Kingdom, that it be revealed in the whole world; and for His great Right Hand that He put it before Himself again to work great salvation by it for Israel,

(6) then forthwith will the Holy One, blessed be He, remember His own justice, favour, mercy and grace:and He will dehver His great Arm by himself, and His righteousness will support Him. According as it is written (Is. lix. 16): And he saw, that there was no man (that is:) like unto Moses who prayed countless times for Israel in the desert and averted the (Divine) decrees from them and he wondered, that there was no intercessor like unto Samuel who intreated the HolyOne, blessed be He, and called unto Him and he answered him and fulfilled his desire, even if it was not fit (in accordance with the Divine plan), according as it is written (i Sam. xii. 17): Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call unto the Lord.

(7) And not only that, but He joined fellowship with Moses in every place, as it is written (Ps.xcix.6): Moses and Aaron among His priests. And again it is written (Jer. xv. i): Though Moses and Samuel stood before me (Is. Ixiii. 5): Mine own arm brought salvation unto me.

(8) Said the Holy One, blessed be He in that hour:  How long shall I wait for the children of men to work salvation according to their righteousness for my arm? For my own sake and for the sake of my merit and righteousness will I deliver my arm and by it redeem my children from among the nations of the world. As it is written (Is. xlviii. n): For my own sake will I do it. For how should my name be profaned.

(9) In that moment will the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal His Great Arm and show it to the nations of the world: for its length is as the length of the world and its breadth is as the width of the world. And the appearance of its splendour is like unto the splendour of the sunshine in its might, in the summer solstice.

(10) Forthwith Israel will be saved from among the nations of the world. And Messiah will appear unto them and He will bring them up to Jerusalem with great joy. And not only that but Israel will come from the four quarters of the World and eat with Messiah. But the nations of the world shall not eat with them, as it is written (Is. Hi. 10): The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And again (Deut. xxxii. 12): The Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. (Zech. xiv. 9): And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.

CHAPTER XLVIII(b)

The Divine Names that go forth from the Throne of Glory, crowned and escorted by numerous angelic hosts through the heavens and back again to the Throne the angels sing the ‘Holy’ and the ‘Blessed’.

(1) These are the seventy-two names written on the heart of the Holy One, blessed be He: SS, SeDeQ {righteousness), SaHPeL SUR {Is. xxvi. 4}, SBI, SaDdlQ{righteous}, STh, SHN, SeBa’oTh {Lord of HostsKShaDdaY {God Almighty}, ‘eLoHIM {God},YHWH, SH, DGUL, W’DOM, SSS, ‘YW, ‘F, ‘HW, HB, YaH, HW, WWW, SSS, PPP, NN, HH, HaY {living}, HaY, ROKeB ‘aRaBOTh {riding upon the ‘Araboth’, Ps. Ixviii. 5}, YH, HH, WH, MMM, NNN, HWW, YH, YHH, HPhS, H’S, 1, W, S, Z’, ‘, QQQ {Holy, Holy, Holy}, QShR, BW, ZK, GINUR, GINURYa’, Y’, YOD, ‘aLePh, H’N, P’P, R’W, YYWy YYW, BBS, DDD, TTT, KKK, KLL, SYS, ‘XT’, BShKMLW { = blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever}, completed for MeLeK HalOLaM {the King of the Universe], JBRH LB’ {the beginning of Wisdom for the children of men}, BNLK W Y {blessed be He who gives strength to the weary and increaseth strength to them that have no might. Is. xl. 29}that go forth (adorned) with numerous crowns of fire with numerous crowns of flame, with numerous crowns of chashmal, with numerous crowns of lightning from before the Throne of Glory. And with them (there are) thousand hundreds of power (i.e. powerful angels) who escort them like a king with trembling and dread, with awe and shivering, with honour and majesty andfear, with terror, with greatness and dignity, with glory and strength, with understanding and knowledge and with a pillar of fire and a pillar of flame and lightning and their light is as lightnings of light and with the likeness of the chashmal.

(2) And they give glory unto them and they answer and cry before them: Holy, Holy, Holy. And they roll (convoy) them through every heaven as mighty and honored princes. And when they bring them all back to the place of the Throne of Glory, then all the Chayyoth by the Merkaba open their mouth in praise of His glorious name, saying: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

CHAPTER XL VIII(c)

An Enoch-Metatron piece.

(1) I seized him, and I took him and I appointed him that is Enoch, the son of Jared, whose name is Metatron

(2) and I took him from among the children of men

…

(5) and made him a Throne over against my Throne. Which is the size of that Throne? Seventy thousand parasangs (all) of fire.

…

(9) I committed unto him 70 angels corresponding to the nations (of the world) and I gave into his charge all the household above and below.

…

(17) And I committed to him Wisdom and Intelligence more than (to) all the angels. And I called his name the LESSER YAH, whose name is by Gematria 71. And I arranged for him all the works of Creation. And I made his power to transcend (lit. I made for him power more than) all the ministering angels.

ALT 2

(3) He committed unto Metatron that is Enoch, the son of Jared all treasuries. And I appointed him over all the stores that I have in every heaven. And I committed into his hands the keys of each heavenly store.

(4) I made (of) him the prince over all the princes, and I made (of) him a minister of my Throne of Glory, to provide for and arrange the Holy Chayyoth, to wreathe crowns for them (to crown them with crowns), to clothe them with honour and majesty to prepare for them a seat when he is sitting on his throne to magnify his glory in the height.

(5) The height of his stature among all those (that are) of high stature (is) seventy thousand parasangs. And I made his glory great as the majesty of my glory.

(6) and the brilliance of his eyes as the splendour of the Throne of Glory.

(7) his garment honour and majesty, his royal crown 500 by 500 parasangs.

ALTS

(1) Alephl I made him strong, I took him, I appointed him: (namely) Metatron, my servant who is one (unique) among all the children of heaven. I made him strong in the generation of the first Adam. But when I beheld the men of the generation of the flood, that they were corrupt, then I went and removed my Shekina from among them. And 1 lifted it up on high with the sound of a trumpet and with a shout, as it is written (Ps.xlvii. 6): God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

(2) And I took him: (that is) Enoch, the son of Jared, from among them. And I lifted him up with the sound of a trumpet and with a tera’a (shout) to the high heavens, to be my witness together with the Chayyoth by the Merkaba in the world to come.

(3) I appointed him over all the treasuries and stores that I have in every heaven. And I committed into his hand the keys of every several one.

(4) I made (of) him the prince over all the princes and a minister of the Throne of Glory (and) the Halls of ‘Araboth: to open their doors to me, and (of) the Throne of Glory, to exalt an arrange it; (and I appointed him over) the Holy Chayyot to wreathe crowns upon their heads; the majestic Ophannim, to crown them with strength and glory; the; honored Kerubim, to clothe: them in majesty; over the radiant sparks, to make them to shine with splendour and brilliance; over the flaming Seraphim, to cover them with highness; the Chashmallim of light, to make them radiant with Light and to prepare the seat for me every morning as I sit upon the Throne of Glory. And to extol and magnify my glory inthe height of my power; (and I have committed unto him) the secrets of above and the secrets of below (heavenly secrets and earthly secrets).

(5) I made him higher than all. The height of his stature, in the midst of all (who are) high of stature (I made) seventy thousand parasangs. I made his Throne great by the majesty of my Throne. And I increased its glory by the honour of my glory.

(6) I transformed his flesh into torches of fire, and all the bones of his body into fiery coals; and I made the appearance of his eyes as the lightning, and the light of his eyebrows as the imperishable light. I made his face bright as the splendour of the sun, and his eyes as the splendour of the Throne of Glory.

(7) I made honour and majesty his clothing, beauty and highness his covering cloak and a royal crown of 500 by (times) 500 parasangs (his) diadem. And I put upon him of my honour, my majesty and the splendour, of my glory that is upon my Throne of Glory. I called him the LESSER YHWH, the Prince of the Presence, the Knower of Secrets: for every secret did I reveal to him as a father and all mysteries declared I unto him in uprightness.

(8) I set up his throne at the door of my Hall that he may sit and judge the heavenly household on high. And I placed every prince before him, to receive authority from him, to perform his will.

(9) Seventy names did I take from (my) names and called him by them to enhance his glory. Seventy princes gave I into his hand, to command unto them my precepts and my words in every language: to abase by his word the proud to the ground, and to exalt by the utterance of his lips the humble to the height; to smite kings by his speech, to turn kings away from their paths, to set up(the) rulers over their dominion as it is written (Dan.ii. 21): and he changeth the times and the seasons, and to give wisdom unto all the setwise of the world and understanding (and) knowledge to all who understand knowledge, as it is griten (Dan. ii. 21):  and knowledge to them that know understanding, to reveal to them the secrets of my words and to teach the decree of my righteous judgement,

(10) as it is written (Is. Iv. n): so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void but shall accomplish (that which I please). ‘E’eseh’ (I shall accomplish) is not written here, but asdh’ (he shall accomplish), meaning, that whatever word and whatever utterance goes forth from before the Holy One, blessed be He, Metatron stands and carries it out. And he establishes the decrees of the Holy One, blessed be He.

CHAPTER XL VIII(d)

The names of Metatron. The treasuries of Wisdom opened to Moses on mount Sinai. The angels protest against Metatron for revealing the secrets to Moses and are answered and rebuked by God. The chain of tradition and the power of the transmitted mysteries to heal diseases.

(1) Seventy names has Metatron which the Holy One, blessed be He, took from his own name and put upon him. And these they are: YeHOEL, YaH, YeHOEL, YOPHIEL and Yophphiel, and APHPHIEL and MaRGeZIEL, GIPpUYEL, Pa’aZIEL, ‘A’aH, PeRIEL, TaTRIEL, TaBKIEL,’W, YHWH, DH, WHYH, ‘eBeD, DiBbURIEL, ‘aPh’aPIEL, SPPIEL, PaSPaSIEL, SeNeGRON, MeTaTRON, SOGDIN, ADRIGON, ASUM, SaQPaM, SaQTaM, MIGON MITTON, MOTTRON, ROSPHIM, QINOTh, ChaTaTYaH, DeGaZYaH, PSPYaH, BSKNYH, MZRG, BaRaD.., MKRKK, MSPRD, ChShG, ChShB, MNRTTT, BSYRYM, MITMON, TITMON, PiSQON, SaPhSaPhYaH, ZRCh, ZRChYaH, B’, BeYaH, HBH BeYaH, PeLeT, PLTYaH, RaBRaBYaH, ChaS, ChaSYaH, TaPhTaPhYaH, TaMTaMYaH, SeHaSYaH, IRURYaH, ‘aL’aLYaH, BaZRIDYaH, SaTSaTKYaH, SaSDYaH, RaZRaZYAH, BaZRaZYaH, ‘aRIMYaH, SBHYaH, SBIBKHYH, SiMKaM, YaHSeYaH, SSBIBYaH, SaBKaSBeYaH, QeLILQaLYaH, fKIHHH, HHYH, WH, WHYH, ZaKklKYaH, TUTRISYaH, SURYaH, ZeH, PeNIRHYaH, ZIZ’H, GaL RaZaYYa, MaMLIKYaH, TTYaH, eMeQ, QaMYaH, MeKaPpeRYaH, PeRISHYaH, SePhaM, GBIR, GiBbORYaH, GOR, GORYaH, ZIW, ‘OKBaR, the LESSER YHWH, after the name of his Master, (Ex. xxiii. 21) for my name is in him, RaBIBIEL, TUMIEL, Segansakkiel (‘Sagnezagiel’ / ‘Neganzegael), the Prince of Wisdom.

(2) And why is he called by the name Sagnesakiel? Because all the treasuries of wisdom are committed in his hand.

(3) And all of them were opened to Moses on Sinai, so that he learnt them during the forty days, while he was standing (remaining}: the Torah in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues, the Prophets in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues, the Writings in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues, the Halakas in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues, the Traditions in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues, the Haggadas in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues and the Toseftas in the seventy aspects of the seventy tongues’.

(4) But as soon as the forty days were ended, he forgot all of them in one moment. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, called Yephiphyah, the Prince of the Law, and (through him) they were given to Moses as a gift. As it is written (Deut. x. 4): and the Lord gave them unto me. And after that it remained with him. And whence do we know, that it remained (in his memory) ? Because it is written (Mai. iv. 4):  Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even my statutes and judgements. The Law of Moses’: that is the Tora, the Prophets and the Writings, ‘statutes’: that is the Halakas and Traditions, ‘judgements’; that is the Haggadas and the Toseftas. And all of them were given to Moses on high on Sinai.

(5) These seventy names (are) a reflection of the Explicit Name(s) on the Merkaba which are graven upon the Throne of Glory. For the Holy One, blessed be He, took from His Explicit Name(s) and put upon the name of Metatron: Seventy Names of His by which the ministering angels call the King of the kings of kings, blessed be He, in the high heavens, and twenty-two letters that are on the ring upon his finger with which are sealed the destinies of the princes of kingdoms on high in greatness and power and with which are sealed the lots of the Angel of Death, and the destinies of every nation and tongue.

(6) Said Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence; the Angel, the Prince of the Wisdom; the Angel, the Prince of the Understanding; the Angel, the Prince of the Kings; the Angel, the Prince of the Rulers; the angel, the Prince of the Glory; the angel, the Prince of the high ones, and of the princes, the exalted, great and honored ones, in heaven and on earth:

(7) H, the God of Israel, is my witness in this thing, (that] when I revealed this secret to Moses, then all the hosts in every heaven on high raged against me and said to me:

(8) Why dost thou reveal this secret to son of man, born of woman, tainted and unclean, a man of a putrefying drop, the secret by which were created heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land, the mountains and hills, the rivers and springs, Gehenna of fire and hail, the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life; and by which were formed Adam and Eve, and the cattle, and the wild beasts, and the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and Behemoth and Leviathan, and the creeping things, the worms, the dragons of the sea, and the creeping things of the deserts; and the Tora and Wisdom and Knowledge and Thought and the Gnosis of things above and the fear of heaven. Why dost thou reveal this to flesh and blood? I answered them: Because the Holy One, blessed be He, has given me authority. And furthermore, I have obtained permission from the high and exalted Throne, from which all the Explicit Names go forth with lightnings of fire and flaming chashmallim.

(9) But they were not appeased, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them and drove them away with rebuke from before him, saying to them: I delight in, and have set my love on, and have entrusted and committed unto Metatron, my Servant, alone, for he is One (unique) among all the children of heaven.

(10) And Metatron brought them out from his house of treasuries and committed them to Moses, and Moses to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets and the prophets to the men of the Great Synagogue, and the men of the Great Synagogue to Ezra and Ezra the Scribe to Hillelthe elder, and Hillel the elder to R. Abbahu and R. Abbahu to R. Zera, and R. Zera to the men of faith, and the men of faith (committed them) to give warning and to heal by them all diseases that rage in the world, as it is written (Ex. xv. 26): If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord, thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his eyes, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians:for I am the Lord, that healeth thee.

(Ended and finished. Praise be unto the Creator of the World.

Justin, Chariton, Charites, Pæon, and Liberianus, Who Suffered in Rome

Translated by the Rev. M. Dods, M.A.

Chapter I.—Examination of Justin by the prefect.

In the time of the lawless partisans of idolatry, wicked decrees were passed against the godly Christians in town and country, to force them to offer libations to vain idols; and accordingly the holy men, having been apprehended, were brought before the prefect of Rome, Rusticus by name. And when they had been brought before his judgment-seat, said to Justin, “Obey the gods at once, and submit to the kings.” Justin said, “To obey the commandments of our Savior Jesus Christ is worthy neither of blame nor of condemnation.” Rusticus the prefect said, “What kind of doctrines do you profess?” Justin said, “I have endeavored to learn all doctrines; but I have acquiesced at last in the true doctrines, those namely of the Christians, even though they do not please those who hold false opinions.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Are those the doctrines that please you, you utterly wretched man?” Justin said, “Yes, since I adhere to them with right dogma.” Rusticus the prefect said, “What is the dogma?” Justin said, “That according to which we worship the God of the Christians, whom we reckon to be one from the beginning, the maker and fashioner of the whole creation, visible and invisible; and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who had also been preached beforehand by the prophets as about to be present with the race of men, the herald of salvation and teacher of good disciples. And I, being a man, think that what I can say is insignificant in comparison with His boundless divinity, acknowledging a certain prophetic power, since it was prophesied concerning Him of whom now I say that He is the Son of God. For I know that of old the prophets foretold His appearance among men.”

Chapter II.—Examination of Justin continued.

Rusticus the prefect said, “Where do you assemble?” Justin said, “Where each one chooses and can: for do you fancy that we all meet in the very same place? Not so; because the God of the Christians is not circumscribed by place; but being invisible, fills heaven and earth, and everywhere is worshiped and glorified by the faithful.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Tell me where you assemble, or into what place do you collect your followers?” Justin said, “I live above one Martinus, at the Timiotinian Bath; and during the whole time (and I am now living in Rome for the second time) I am unaware of any other meeting than his. And if any one wished to come to me, I communicated to him the doctrines of truth.” Rusticus said, “Are you not, then, a Christian?” Justin said, “Yes, I am a Christian.”

Chapter III.—Examination of Chariton and others.

Then said the prefect Rusticus to Chariton, “Tell me further, Chariton, are you also a Christian?” Chariton said, “I am a Christian by the command of God.” Rusticus the prefect asked the woman Charito, “What say you, Charito?” Charito said, “I am a Christian by the grace of God.” Rusticus said to Euelpistus, “And what are you?” Euelpistus, a servant of Cæsar, answered, “I too am a Christian, having been freed by Christ; and by the grace of Christ I partake of the same hope.” Rusticus the prefect said to Hierax, “And you, are you a Christian?” Hierax said, “Yes, I am a Christian, for I revere and worship the same God.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Did Justin make you Christians?” Hierax said, “I was a Christian, and will be a Christian.” And Pæon stood up and said, “I too am a Christian.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Who taught you?” Pæon said, “From our parents we received this good confession.” Euelpistus said, “I willingly heard the words of Justin. But from my parents also I learned to be a Christian.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Where are your parents?” Euelpistus said, “In Cappadocia.” Rusticus says to Hierax, “Where are your parents?” And he answered, and said, “Christ is our true father, and faith in Him is our mother; and my earthly parents died; and I, when I was driven from Iconium in Phrygia, came here.” Rusticus the prefect said to Liberianus, “And what say you? Are you a Christian, and unwilling to worship [the gods]?” Liberianus said, “I too am a Christian, for I worship and reverence the only true God.”

Chapter IV.—Rusticus threatens the Christians with death.

The prefect says to Justin, “Hearken, you who are called learned, and think that you know true doctrines; if you are scourged and beheaded, do you believe you will ascend into heaven?” Justin said, “I hope that, if I endure these things, I shall have His gifts. For I know that, to all who have thus lived, there abides the divine favour until the completion of the whole world.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Do you suppose, then, that you will ascend into heaven to receive some recompense?” Justin said, “I do not suppose it, but I know and am fully persuaded of it.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Let us, then, now come to the matter in hand, and which presses. Having come together, offer sacrifice with one accord to the gods.” Justin said, “No right-thinking person falls away from piety to impiety.” Rusticus the prefect said, “Unless ye obey, ye shall be mercilessly punished.” Justin said, “Through prayer we can be saved on account of our Lord Jesus Christ, even when we have been punished, because this shall become to us salvation and confidence at the more fearful and universal judgment-seat of our Lord and Savior.” Thus also said the other martyrs: “Do what you will, for we are Christians, and do not sacrifice to idols.”

Chapter V.—Sentence pronounced and executed.

Rusticus the prefect pronounced sentence, saying, “Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to yield to the command of the emperor be scourged, and led away to suffer the punishment of decapitation, according to the laws.” The holy martyrs having glorified God, and having gone forth to the accustomed place, were beheaded, and perfected their testimony in the confession of the Savior. And some of the faithful having secretly removed their bodies, laid them in a suitable place, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ having wrought along with them, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

aka 2 Esdras

[1] The second book of the prophet Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,
[2] son of Ahijah, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Arna, son of Uzzi, son of Borith, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar,
[3] son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, who was a captive in the country of the Medes in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians.
[4] The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
[5] “Go and declare to my people their evil deeds, and to their children the iniquities which they have committed against me, so that they may tell their children’s children
[6] that the sins of their parents have increased in them, for they have forgotten me and have offered sacrifices to strange gods.
[7] Was it not I who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage? But they have angered me and despised my counsels.
[8] Pull out the hair of your head and hurl all evils upon them, for they have not obeyed my law — they are a rebellious people.
[9] How long shall I endure them, on whom I have bestowed such great benefits?
[10] For their sake I have overthrown many kings: I struck down Pharaoh with his servants, and all his army.
[11] I have destroyed all nations before them, and scattered in the east the people of two provinces, Tyre and Sidon; I have slain all their enemies.
[12] “But speak to them and say, Thus says the Lord:
[13] Surely it was I who brought you through the sea, and made safe highways for you where there was no road; I gave you Moses as leader and Aaron as priest;
[14] I provided light for you from a pillar of fire, and did great wonders among you. Yet you have forgotten me, says the Lord.
[15] “Thus says the Lord Almighty: The quails were a sign to you; I gave you camps for your protection, and in them you complained.
[16] You have not exulted in my name at the destruction of your enemies, but to this day you still complain.
[17] Where are the benefits which I bestowed on you? When you were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did you not cry out to me,
[18] saying, `Why hast thou led us into this wilderness to kill us? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness.’
[19] I pitied your groanings and gave you manna for food; you ate the bread of angels.
[20] When you were thirsty, did I not cleave the rock so that waters flowed in abundance? Because of the heat I covered you with the leaves of trees.
[21] I divided fertile lands among you; I drove out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Philistines before you. What more can I do for you? says the Lord.
[22] Thus says the Lord Almighty: When you were in the wilderness, at the bitter stream, thirsty and blaspheming my name,
[23] I did not send fire upon you for your blasphemies, but threw a tree into the water and made the stream sweet.
[24] “What shall I do to you, O Jacob? You would not obey me, O Judah. I will turn to other nations and will give them my name, that they may keep my statutes.
[25] Because you have forsaken me, I also will forsake you. When you beg mercy of me, I will show you no mercy.
[26] When you call upon me, I will not listen to you; for you have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit murder.
[27] It is not as though you had forsaken me; you have forsaken yourselves, says the Lord.
[28] “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Have I not entreated you as a father entreats his sons or a mother her daughters or a nurse her children,
[29] that you should be my people and I should be your God, and that you should be my sons and I should be your father?
[30] I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence.
[31] When you offer oblations to me, I will turn my face from you; for I have rejected your feast days, and new moons, and circumcisions of the flesh.
[32] I sent to you my servants the prophets, but you have taken and slain them and torn their bodies in pieces; their blood I will require of you, says the Lord.
[33] “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Your house is desolate; I will drive you out as the wind drives straw;
[34] and your sons will have no children, because with you they have neglected my commandment and have done what is evil in my sight.
[35] I will give your houses to a people that will come, who without having heard me will believe. Those to whom I have shown no signs will do what I have commanded.
[36] They have seen no prophets, yet will recall their former state.
[37] I call to witness the gratitude of the people that is to come, whose children rejoice with gladness; though they do not see me with bodily eyes, yet with the spirit they will believe the things I have said.
[38] “And now, father, look with pride and see the people coming from the east;
[39] to them I will give as leaders Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Hosea and Amos and Micah and Joel and Obadiah and Jonah
[40] and Nahum and Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, who is also called the messenger of the Lord.

2

[1] “Thus says the Lord: I brought this people out of bondage, and I gave them commandments through my servants the prophets; but they would not listen to them, and made my counsels void.
[2] The mother who bore them says to them, `Go, my children, because I am a widow and forsaken.
[3] I brought you up with gladness; but with mourning and sorrow I have lost you, because you have sinned before the Lord God and have done what is evil in my sight.
[4] But now what can I do for you? For I am a widow and forsaken. Go, my children, and ask for mercy from the Lord.’
[5] I call upon you, father, as a witness in addition to the mother of the children, because they would not keep my covenant,
[6] that you may bring confusion upon them and bring their mother to ruin, so that they may have no offspring.
[7] Let them be scattered among the nations, let their names be blotted out from the earth, because they have despised my covenant.
[8] “Woe to you, Assyria, who conceal the unrighteous in your midst! O wicked nation, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah,
[9] whose land lies in lumps of pitch and heaps of ashes. So will I do to those who have not listened to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
[10] Thus says the Lord to Ezra: “Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I was going to give to Israel.
[11] Moreover, I will take back to myself their glory, and will give to these others the everlasting habitations, which I had prepared for Israel.
[12] The tree of life shall give them fragrant perfume, and they shall neither toil nor become weary.
[13] Ask and you will receive; pray that your days may be few, that they may be shortened. The kingdom is already prepared for you; watch!
[14] Call, O call heaven and earth to witness, for I left out evil and created good, because I live, says the Lord.
[15] “Mother, embrace your sons; bring them up with gladness, as does the dove; establish their feet, because I have chosen you, says the Lord.
[16] And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out from their tombs, because I recognize my name in them.
[17] Do not fear, mother of sons, for I have chosen you, says the Lord.
[18] I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to their counsel I have consecrated and prepared for you twelve trees loaded with various fruits,
[19] and the same number of springs flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains on which roses and lilies grow; by these I will fill your children with joy.
[20] Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the fatherless, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
[21] care for the injured and the weak, do not ridicule a lame man, protect the maimed, and let the blind man have a vision of my splendor.
[22] Protect the old and the young within your walls;
[23] When you find any who are dead, commit them to the grave and mark it, and I will give you the first place in my resurrection.
[24] Pause and be quiet, my people, because your rest will come.
[25] Good nurse, nourish your sons, and strengthen their feet.
[26] Not one of the servants whom I have given you will perish, for I will require them from among your number.
[27] Do not be anxious, for when the day of tribulation and anguish comes, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but you shall rejoice and have abundance.
[28] The nations shall envy you but they shall not be able to do anything against you, says the Lord.
[29] My hands will cover you, that your sons may not see Gehenna.
[30] Rejoice, O mother, with your sons, because I will deliver you, says the Lord.
[31] Remember your sons that sleep, because I will bring them out of the hiding places of the earth, and will show mercy to them; for I am merciful, says the Lord Almighty.
[32] Embrace your children until I come, and proclaim mercy to them; because my springs run over, and my grace will not fail.”
[33] I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Horeb to go to Israel. When I came to them they rejected me and refused the Lord’s commandment.
[34] Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, “Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.
[35] Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you for evermore.
[36] Flee from the shadow of this age, receive the joy of your glory; I publicly call on my Savior to witness.
[37] Receive what the Lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to heavenly kingdoms.
[38] Rise and stand, and see at the feast of the Lord the number of those who have been sealed.
[39] Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord.
[40] Take again your full number, O Zion, and conclude the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
[41] The number of your children, whom you desired, is full; beseech the Lord’s power that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy.”
[42] I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs.
[43] In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound.
[44] Then I asked an angel, “Who are these, my lord?”
[45] He answered and said to me, “These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms.”
[46] Then I said to the angel, “Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?”
[47] He answered and said to me, “He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.” So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.
[48] Then the angel said to me, “Go, tell my people how great and many are the wonders of the Lord God which you have seen.”

3

[1] In the thirtieth year after the destruction of our city, I Salathiel, who am also called Ezra, was in Babylon. I was troubled as I lay on my bed, and my thoughts welled up in my heart,
[2] because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon.
[3] My spirit was greatly agitated, and I began to speak anxious words to the Most High, and said,
[4] “O sovereign Lord, didst thou not speak at the beginning when thou didst form the earth — and that without help — and didst command the dust
[5] and it gave thee Adam, a lifeless body? Yet he was the workmanship of thy hands, and thou didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he was made alive in thy presence.
[6] And thou didst lead him into the garden which thy right hand had planted before the earth appeared.
[7] And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine; but he transgressed it, and immediately thou didst appoint death for him and for his descendants. From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples and clans without number.
[8] And every nation walked after its own will and did ungodly things before thee and scorned thee, and thou didst not hinder them.
[9] But again, in its time thou didst bring the flood upon the inhabitants of the world and destroy them.
[10] And the same fate befell them: as death came upon Adam, so the flood upon them.
[11] But thou didst leave one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous who have descended from him.
[12] “When those who dwelt on earth began to multiply, they produced children and peoples and many nations, and again they began to be more ungodly than were their ancestors.
[13] And when they were committing iniquity before thee, thou didst choose for thyself one of them, whose name was Abraham;
[14] and thou didst love him, and to him only didst thou reveal the end of the times, secretly by night.
[15] Thou didst make with him an everlasting covenant, and promise him that thou wouldst never forsake his descendants; and thou gavest to him Isaac, and to Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau.
[16] And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, but Esau thou didst reject; and Jacob became a great multitude.
[17] And when thou didst lead his descendants out of Egypt, thou didst bring them to Mount Sinai.
[18] Thou didst bend down the heavens and shake the earth, and move the world, and make the depths to tremble, and trouble the times.
[19] And thy glory passed through the four gates of fire and earthquake and wind and ice, to give the law to the descendants of Jacob, and thy commandment to the posterity of Israel.
[20] “Yet thou didst not take away from them their evil heart, so that thy law might bring forth fruit in them.
[21] For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him.
[22] Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in the people’s heart along with the evil root, but what was good departed, and the evil remained.
[23] So the times passed and the years were completed, and thou didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David.
[24] And thou didst command him to build a city for thy name, and in it to offer thee oblations from what is thine.
[25] This was done for many years; but the inhabitants of the city transgressed,
[26] in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had done, for they also had the evil heart.
[27] So thou didst deliver the city into the hands of thy enemies.
[28] “Then I said in my heart, Are the deeds of those who inhabit Babylon any better? Is that why she has gained dominion over Zion?
[29] For when I came here I saw ungodly deeds without number, and my soul has seen many sinners during these thirty years. And my heart failed me,
[30] for I have seen how thou dost endure those who sin, and hast spared those who act wickedly, and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thy enemies,
[31] and hast not shown to any one how thy way may be comprehended. Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion?
[32] Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what tribes have so believed thy covenants as these tribes of Jacob?
[33] Yet their reward has not appeared and their labor has borne no fruit. For I have traveled widely among the nations and have seen that they abound in wealth, though they are unmindful of thy commandments.
[34] Now therefore weigh in a balance our iniquities and those of the inhabitants of the world; and so it will be found which way the turn of the scale will incline.
[35] When have the inhabitants of the earth not sinned in thy sight? Or what nation has kept thy commandments so well?
[36] Thou mayest indeed find individual men who have kept thy commandments, but nations thou wilt not find.”

4

[1] Then the angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel, answered
[2] and said to me, “Your understanding has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?”
[3] Then I said, “Yes, my lord.” And he replied to me, “I have been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems.
[4] If you can solve one of them for me, I also will show you the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil.”
[5] I said, “Speak on, my lord.” And he said to me, “Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a measure of wind, or call back for me the day that is past.”
[6] I answered and said, “Who of those that have been born can do this, that you ask me concerning these things?”
[7] And he said to me, “If I had asked you, `How many dwellings are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of hell, or which are the entrances of paradise?’
[8] Perhaps you would have said to me, `I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever ascend into heaven.’
[9] But now I have asked you only about fire and wind and the day, things through which you have passed and without which you cannot exist, and you have given me no answer about them!”
[10] And he said to me, “You cannot understand the things with which you have grown up;
[11] how then can your mind comprehend the way of the Most High? And how can one who is already worn out by the corrupt world understand incorruption?” When I heard this, I fell on my face
[12] and said to him, “It would be better for us not to be here than to come here and live in ungodliness, and to suffer and not understand why.”
[13] He answered me and said, “I went into a forest of trees of the plain, and they made a plan
[14] and said, `Come, let us go and make war against the sea, that it may recede before us, and that we may make for ourselves more forests.’
[15] And in like manner the waves of the sea also made a plan and said, `Come, let us go up and subdue the forest of the plain so that there also we may gain more territory for ourselves.’
[16] But the plan of the forest was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it;
[17] likewise also the plan of the waves of the sea, for the sand stood firm and stopped them.
[18] If now you were a judge between them, which would you undertake to justify, and which to condemn?”
[19] I answered and said, “Each has made a foolish plan, for the land is assigned to the forest, and to the sea is assigned a place to carry its waves.”
[20] He answered me and said, “You have judged rightly, but why have you not judged so in your own case?
[21] For as the land is assigned to the forest and the sea to its waves, so also those who dwell upon earth can understand only what is on the earth, and he who is above the heavens can understand what is above the height of the heavens.”
[22] Then I answered and said, “I beseech you, my lord, why have I been endowed with the power of understanding?
[23] For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;
[24] and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.
[25] But what will he do for his name, by which we are called? It is about these things that I have asked.”
[26] He answered me and said, “If you are alive, you will see, and if you live long, you will often marvel, because the age is hastening swiftly to its end.
[27] For it will not be able to bring the things that have been promised to the righteous in their appointed times, because this age is full of sadness and infirmities.
[28] For the evil about which you ask me has been sown, but the harvest of it has not yet come.
[29] If therefore that which has been sown is not reaped, and if the place where the evil has been sown does not pass away, the field where the good has been sown will not come.
[30] For a grain of evil seed was sown in Adam’s heart from the beginning, and how much ungodliness it has produced until now, and will produce until the time of threshing comes!
[31] Consider now for yourself how much fruit of ungodliness a grain of evil seed has produced.
[32] When heads of grain without number are sown, how great a threshing floor they will fill!”
[33] Then I answered and said, “How long and when will these things be? Why are our years few and evil?”
[34] He answered me and said, “You do not hasten faster than the Most High, for your haste is for yourself, but the Highest hastens on behalf of many.
[35] Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, `How long are we to remain here? And when will come the harvest of our reward?
[36] And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, `When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance,
[37] and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.'”
[38] Then I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, but all of us also are full of ungodliness.
[39] And it is perhaps on account of us that the time of threshing is delayed for the righteous — on account of the sins of those who dwell on earth.”
[40] He answered me and said, “Go and ask a woman who is with child if, when her nine months have been completed, her womb can keep the child within her any longer.”
[41] And I said, “No, lord, it cannot.” And he said to me, “In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb.
[42] For just as a woman who is in travail makes haste to escape the pangs of birth, so also do these places hasten to give back those things that were committed to them from the beginning.
[43] Then the things that you desire to see will be disclosed to you.”
[44] I answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, and if it is possible, and if I am worthy,
[45] show me this also: whether more time is to come than has passed, or whether for us the greater part has gone by.
[46] For I know what has gone by, but I do not know what is to come.”
[47] And he said to me, “Stand at my right side, and I will show you the interpretation of a parable.”
[48] So I stood and looked, and behold, a flaming furnace passed by before me, and when the flame had gone by I looked, and behold, the smoke remained.
[49] And after this a cloud full of water passed before me and poured down a heavy and violent rain, and when the rainstorm had passed, drops remained in the cloud.
[50] And he said to me, “Consider it for yourself; for as the rain is more than the drops, and the fire is greater than the smoke, so the quantity that passed was far greater; but drops and smoke remained.”
[51] Then I prayed and said, “Do you think that I shall live until those days? Or who will be alive in those days?”
[52] He answered me and said, “Concerning the signs about which you ask me, I can tell you in part; but I was not sent to tell you concerning your life, for I do not know.

5

[1] “Now concerning the signs: behold, the days are coming when those who dwell on earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
[2] And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see, and beyond what you heard of formerly.
[3] And the land which you now see ruling shall be waste and untrodden, and men shall see it desolate.
[4] But if the Most High grants that you live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third period; and the sun shall suddenly shine forth at night,and the moon during the day.
[5] Blood shall drip from wood,and the stone shall utter its voice;the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall.
[6] And one shall reign whom those who dwell on earth do not expect, and the birds shall fly away together;
[7] and the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish; and one whom the many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear his voice.
[8] There shall be chaos also in many places, and fire shall often break out, and the wild beasts shall roam beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters.
[9] And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its chamber,
[10] and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found, and unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth.
[11] And one country shall ask its neighbor, `Has righteousness, or any one who does right, passed through you?’ And it will answer, `No.’
[12] And at that time men shall hope but not obtain; they shall labor but their ways shall not prosper.
[13] These are the signs which I am permitted to tell you, and if you pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast for seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these.”
[14] Then I awoke, and my body shuddered violently, and my soul was so troubled that it fainted.
[15] But the angel who had come and talked with me held me and strengthened me and set me on my feet.
[16] Now on the second night Phaltiel, a chief of the people, came to me and said, “Where have you been? And why is your face sad?
[17] Or do you not know that Israel has been entrusted to you in the land of their exile?
[18] Rise therefore and eat some bread, so that you may not forsake us, like a shepherd who leaves his flock in the power of cruel wolves.”
[19] Then I said to him, “Depart from me and do not come near me for seven days, and then you may come to me.” He heard what I said and left me.
[20] So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, as Uriel the angel had commanded me.
[21] And after seven days the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again.
[22] Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High.
[23] And I said, “O sovereign Lord, from every forest of the earth and from all its trees thou hast chosen one vine,
[24] and from all the lands of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one region, and from all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one lily,
[25] and from all the depths of the sea thou hast filled for thyself one river, and from all the cities that have been built thou hast consecrated Zion for thyself,
[26] and from all the birds that have been created thou hast named for thyself one dove, and from all the flocks that have been made thou hast provided for thyself one sheep,
[27] and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou hast given the law which is approved by all.
[28] And now, O Lord, why hast thou given over the one to the many, and dishonored the one root beyond the others, and scattered thine only one among the many?
[29] And those who opposed thy promises have trodden down those who believed thy covenants.
[30] If thou dost really hate thy people, they should be punished at thy own hands.”
[31] When I had spoken these words, the angel who had come to me on a previous night was sent to me,
[32] and he said to me, “Listen to me, and I will instruct you; pay attention to me, and I will tell you more.”
[33] And I said, “Speak, my lord.” And he said to me, “Are you greatly disturbed in mind over Israel? Or do you love him more than his Maker does?”
[34] And I said, “No, my lord, but because of my grief I have spoken; for every hour I suffer agonies of heart, while I strive to understand the way of the Most High and to search out part of his judgment.”
[35] And he said to me, “You cannot.” And I said, “Why not, my lord? Why then was I born? Or why did not my mother’s womb become my grave, that I might not see the travail of Jacob and the exhaustion of the people of Israel?”
[36] He said to me, “Count up for me those who have not yet come, and gather for me the scattered raindrops, and make the withered flowers bloom again for me;
[37] open for me the closed chambers, and bring forth for me the winds shut up in them, or show me the picture of a voice; and then I will explain to you the travail that you ask to understand.”
[38] And I said, “O sovereign Lord, who is able to know these things except he whose dwelling is not with men?
[39] As for me, I am without wisdom, and how can I speak concerning the things which thou hast asked me?”
[40] He said to me, “Just as you cannot do one of the things that were mentioned, so you cannot discover my judgment, or the goal of the love that I have promised my people.”
[41] And I said, “Yet behold, O Lord, thou dost have charge of those who are alive at the end, but what will those do who were before us, or we, or those who come after us?”
[42] He said to me, “I shall liken my judgment to a circle; just as for those who are last there is no slowness, so for those who are first there is no haste.”
[43] Then I answered and said, “Couldst thou not have created at one time those who have been and those who are and those who will be, that thou mightest show thy judgment the sooner?”
[44] He replied to me and said, “The creation cannot make more haste than the Creator, neither can the world hold at one time those who have been created in it.”
[45] And I said, “How hast thou said to thy servant that thou wilt certainly give life at one time to thy creation? If therefore all creatures will live at one time and the creation will sustain them, it might even now be able to support all of them present at one time.”
[46] He said to me, “Ask a woman’s womb, and say to it, `If you bear ten children, why one after another?’ Request it therefore to produce ten at one time.”
[47] I said, “Of course it cannot, but only each in its own time.”
[48] He said to me, “Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those who from time to time are sown in it.
[49] For as an infant does not bring forth, and a woman who has become old does not bring forth any longer, so have I organized the world which I created.”
[50] Then I inquired and said, “Since thou hast now given me the opportunity, let me speak before thee. Is our mother, of whom thou hast told me, still young? Or is she now approaching old age?”
[51] He replied to me, “Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you.
[52] Say to her, “Why are those whom you have borne recently not like those whom you bore before, but smaller in stature?’
[53] And she herself will answer you, `Those born in the strength of youth are different from those born during the time of old age, when the womb is failing.’
[54] Therefore you also should consider that you and your contemporaries are smaller in stature than those who were before you,
[55] and those who come after you will be smaller than you, as born of a creation which already is aging and passing the strength of youth.”
[56] And I said, “O Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show thy servant through whom thou dost visit thy creation.”

6

[1] And he said to me, “At the beginning of the circle of the earth, before the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled winds blew,
[2] and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were laid,
[3] and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of movement were established, and before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered together,
[4] and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of Zion was established,
[5] and before the present years were reckoned; and before the imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who stored up treasures of faith were sealed —
[6] then I planned these things, and they were made through me and not through another, just as the end shall come through me and not through another.”
[7] And I answered and said, “What will be the dividing of the times? Or when will be the end of the first age and the beginning of the age that follows?”
[8] He said to me, “From Abraham to Isaac, because from him were born Jacob and Esau, for Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel from the beginning.
[9] For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the age that follows.
[10] For the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his heel; between the heel and the hand seek for nothing else, Ezra!”
[11] I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight,
[12] show thy servant the end of thy signs which thou didst show me in part on a previous night.”
[13] He answered and said to me, “Rise to your feet and you will hear a full, resounding voice.
[14] And if the place where you are standing is greatly shaken
[15] while the voice is speaking, do not be terrified; because the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand
[16] that the speech concerns them. They will tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end must be changed.”
[17] When I heard this, I rose to my feet and listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters.
[18] And it said, “Behold, the days are coming, and it shall be that when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth,
[19] and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete,
[20] and when the seal is placed upon the age which is about to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and all shall see it together.
[21] Infants a year old shall speak with their voices, and women with child shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and dance.
[22] Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and full storehouses shall suddenly be found to be empty;
[23] and the trumpet shall sound aloud, and when all hear it, they shall suddenly be terrified.
[24] At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies, and the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall not flow.
[25] “And it shall be that whoever remains after all that I have foretold to you shall himself be saved and shall see my salvation and the end of my world.
[26] And they shall see the men who were taken up, who from their birth have not tasted death; and the heart of the earth’s inhabitants shall be changed and converted to a different spirit.
[27] For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched;
[28] faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed.”
[29] While he spoke to me, behold, little by little the place where I was standing began to rock to and fro.
[30] And he said to me, “I have come to show you these things this night.
[31] If therefore you will pray again and fast again for seven days, I will again declare to you greater things than these,
[32] because your voice has surely been heard before the Most High; for the Mighty One has seen your uprightness and has also observed the purity which you have maintained from your youth.
[33] Therefore he sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you: `Believe and do not be afraid!
[34] Do not be quick to think vain thoughts concerning the former times, lest you be hasty concerning the last times.'”
[35] Now after this I wept again and fasted seven days as before, in order to complete the three weeks as I had been told.
[36] And on the eighth night my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High.
[37] For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress.
[38] I said, “O Lord, thou didst speak at the beginning of creation, and didst say on the first day, `Let heaven and earth be made,’ and thy word accomplished the work.
[39] And then the Spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence embraced everything; the sound of man’s voice was not yet there.
[40] Then thou didst command that a ray of light be brought forth from thy treasuries, so that thy works might then appear.
[41] “Again, on the second day, thou didst create the spirit of the firmament, and didst command him to divide and separate the waters, that one part might move upward and the other part remain beneath.
[42] “On the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth; six parts thou didst dry up and keep so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before thee.
[43] For thy word went forth, and at once the work was done.
[44] For immediately fruit came forth in endless abundance and of varied appeal to the taste; and flowers of inimitable color; and odors of inexpressible fragrance. These were made on the third day.
[45] “On the fourth day thou didst command the brightness of the sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars to come into being;
[46] and thou didst command them to serve man, who was about to be formed.
[47] “On the fifth day thou didst command the seventh part, where the water had been gathered together, to bring forth living creatures, birds, and fishes; and so it was done.
[48] The dumb and lifeless water produced living creatures, as it was commanded, that therefore the nations might declare thy wondrous works.
[49] “Then thou didst keep in existence two living creatures; the name of one thou didst call Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan.
[50] And thou didst separate one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both.
[51] And thou didst give Behemoth one of the parts which had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains;
[52] but to Leviathan thou didst give the seventh part, the watery part; and thou hast kept them to be eaten by whom thou wilt, and when thou wilt.
[53] “On the sixth day thou didst command the earth to bring forth before thee cattle, beasts, and creeping things;
[54] and over these thou didst place Adam, as ruler over all the works which thou hadst made; and from him we have all come, the people whom thou hast chosen.
[55] “All this I have spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou hast said that it was for us that thou didst create this world.
[56] As for the other nations which have descended from Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and thou hast compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket.
[57] And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed as nothing, domineer over us and devour us.
[58] But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, only begotten, zealous for thee, and most dear, have been given into their hands.
[59] If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so?”

7

[1] When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again,
[2] and he said to me, “Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that I have come to speak to you.”
[3] I said, “Speak, my lord.” And he said to me, “There is a sea set in a wide expanse so that it is broad and vast,
[4] but it has an entrance set in a narrow place, so that it is like a river.
[5] If any one, then, wishes to reach the sea, to look at it or to navigate it, how can he come to the broad part unless he passes through the narrow part?
[6] Another example: There is a city built and set on a plain, and it is full of all good things;
[7] but the entrance to it is narrow and set in a precipitous place, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left;
[8] and there is only one path lying between them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that only one man can walk upon that path.
[9] If now that city is given to a man for an inheritance, how will the heir receive his inheritance unless he passes through the danger set before him?”
[10] I said, “He cannot, lord.” And he said to me, “So also is Israel’s portion.
[11] For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged.
[12] And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships.
[13] But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality.
[14] Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them.
[15] But now why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish? And why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal?
[16] And why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?”
[17] Then I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, behold, thou hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish.
[18] The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones.”
[19] And he said to me, “You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High!
[20] Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be disregarded!
[21] For God strictly commanded those who came into the world, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment.
[22] Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against him; they devised for themselves vain thoughts,
[23] and proposed to themselves wicked frauds; they even declared that the Most High does not exist, and they ignored his ways!
[24] They scorned his law, and denied his covenants; they have been unfaithful to his statutes, and have not performed his works.
[25] “Therefore, Ezra, empty things are for the empty, and full things are for the full.
[26] For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will come to pass, that the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed.
[27] And every one who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders.
[28] For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years.
[29] And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human breath.
[30] And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings; so that no one shall be left.
[31] And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish.
[32] And the earth shall give up those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who dwell silently in it; and the chambers shall give up the souls which have been committed to them.
[33] And the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment, and compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn;
[34] but only judgment shall remain, truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall grow strong.
[35] And recompense shall follow, and the reward shall be manifested; righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous deeds shall not sleep.
[36] Then the pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest; and the furnace of hell shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight.
[37] Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead, `Look now, and understand whom you have denied, whom you have not served, whose commandments you have despised!
[38] Look on this side and on that; here are delight and rest, and there are fire and torments!’ Thus he will speak to them on the day of judgment —
[39] a day that has no sun or moon or stars,
[40] or cloud or thunder or lightning or wind or water or air, or darkness or evening or morning,
[41] or summer or spring or heat or winter or frost or cold or hail or rain or dew,
[42] or noon or night, or dawn or shining or brightness or light, but only the splendor of the glory of the Most High, by which all shall see what has been determined for them.
[43] For it will last for about a week of years.
[44] This is my judgment and its prescribed order; and to you alone have I shown these things.”
[45] I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, I said then and I say now: Blessed are those who are alive and keep thy commandments!
[46] But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed thy covenant?
[47] And now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many.
[48] For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated us from God, and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death, and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life — and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!”
[49] He answered me and said, “Listen to me, Ezra, and I will instruct you, and will admonish you yet again.
[50] For this reason the Most High has made not one world but two.
[51] For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this.
[52] “If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to them lead and clay?”
[53] I said, “Lord, how could that be?”
[54] And he said to me, “Not only that, but ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you.
[55] Say to her, `You produce gold and silver and brass, and also iron and lead and clay;
[56] but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.’
[57] Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare?”
[58] I said, “O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less worth, for what is more rare is more precious.”
[59] He answered me and said, “Weigh within yourself what you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he who has what is plentiful.
[60] So also will be the judgment which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored.
[61] And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke — they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished.”
[62] I replied and said, “O earth, what have you brought forth, if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things!
[63] For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it.
[64] But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented, because we perish and know it.
[65] Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts and the flocks rejoice!
[66] For it is much better with them than with us; for they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation promised to them after death.
[67] For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive but cruelly tormented?
[68] For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions.
[69] And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps it would have been better for us.”
[70] He answered me and said, “When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment.
[71] And now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us.
[72] For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity, and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received.
[73] What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times?
[74] For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of the times which he has foreordained!”
[75] I answered and said, “If I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, show this also to thy servant: whether after death, as soon as every one of us yields up his soul, we shall be kept in rest until those times come when thou wilt renew the creation, or whether we shall be tormented at once?”
[76] He answered me and said, “I will show you that also, but do not be associated with those who have shown scorn, nor number yourself among those who are tormented.
[77] For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High; but it will not be shown to you until the last times.
[78] Now, concerning death, the teaching is: When the decisive decree has gone forth from the Most High that a man shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, first of all it adores the glory of the Most High.
[79] And if it is one of those who have shown scorn and have not kept the way of the Most High, and who have despised his law, and who have hated those who fear God —
[80] such spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall immediately wander about in torments, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways.
[81] The first way, because they have scorned the law of the Most High.
[82] The second way, because they cannot now make a good repentance that they may live.
[83] The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for those who have trusted the covenants of the Most High.
[84] The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days.
[85] The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the others are guarded by angels in profound quiet.
[86] The sixth way, they shall see how some of them will pass over into torments.
[87] The seventh way, which is worse than all the ways that have been mentioned, because they shall utterly waste away in confusion and be consumed with shame, and shall wither with fear at seeing the glory of the Most High before whom they sinned while they were alive, and before whom they are to be judged in the last times.
[88] “Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal body.
[89] During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously served the Most High, and withstood danger every hour, that they might keep the law of the Lawgiver perfectly.
[90] Therefore this is the teaching concerning them:
[91] First of all, they shall see with great joy the glory of him who receives them, for they shall have rest in seven orders.
[92] The first order, because they have striven with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death.
[93] The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them.
[94] The third order, they see the witness which he who formed them bears concerning them, that while they were alive they kept the law which was given them in trust.
[95] The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by angels in profound quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days.
[96] The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped what is corruptible, and shall inherit what is to come; and besides they see the straits and toil from which they have been delivered, and the spacious liberty which they are to receive and enjoy in immortality.
[97] The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on.
[98] The seventh order, which is greater than all that have been mentioned, because they shall rejoice with boldness, and shall be confident without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten to behold the face of him whom they served in life and from whom they are to receive their reward when glorified.
[99] This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced; and the aforesaid are the ways of torment which those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter.”
[100] I answered and said, “Will time therefore be given to the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what you have described to me?”
[101] He said to me, “They shall have freedom for seven days, so that during these seven days they may see the things of which you have been told, and afterwards they shall be gathered in their habitations.”
[102] I answered and said, “If I have found favor in thy sight, show further to me, thy servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for them,
[103] fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kinsmen, or friends for those who are most dear.”
[104] He answered me and said, “Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive and displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest friend, to be ill or sleep or eat or be healed in his stead,
[105] so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither shall any one lay a burden on another; for then every one shall bear his own righteousness and unrighteousness.”
[36(106)] I answered and said, “How then do we find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our fathers who sinned in the desert,
[37(107)] and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan,
[38(108)] and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the plague, and Solomon for those in the sanctuary,
[39(109)] and Elijah for those who received the rain, and for the one who was dead, that he might live,
[40(110)] and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many others prayed for many?
[41(111)] If therefore the righteous have prayed for the ungodly now, when corruption has increased and unrighteousness has multiplied, why will it not be so then as well?”
[42(112)] He answered me and said, “This present world is not the end; the full glory does not abide in it; therefore those who were strong prayed for the weak.
[43(113)] But the day of judgment will be the end of this age and the beginning of the immortal age to come, in which corruption has passed away,
[44(114)] sinful indulgence has come to an end, unbelief has been cut off, and righteousness has increased and truth has appeared.
[45(115)] Therefore no one will then be able to have mercy on him who has been condemned in the judgment, or to harm him who is victorious.”
[46(116)] I answered and said, “This is my first and last word, that it would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning.
[47(117)] For what good is it to all that they live in sorrow now and expect punishment after death?
[48(118)] O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants.
[49(119)] For what good is it to us, if an eternal age has been promised to us, but we have done deeds that bring death?
[50(120)] And what good is it that an everlasting hope has been promised to us, but we have miserably failed?
[51(121)] Or that safe and healthful habitations have been reserved for us, but we have lived wickedly?
[52(122)] Or that the glory of the Most High will defend those who have led a pure life, but we have walked in the most wicked ways?
[53(123)] Or that a paradise shall be revealed, whose fruit remains unspoiled and in which are abundance and healing, but we shall not enter it,
[54(124)] because we have lived in unseemly places?
[55(125)] Or that the faces of those who practiced self-control shall shine more than the stars, but our faces shall be blacker than darkness?
[56(126)] For while we lived and committed iniquity we did not consider what we should suffer after death.”
[57(127)] He answered and said, “This is the meaning of the contest which every man who is born on earth shall wage,
[58(128)] that if he is defeated he shall suffer what you have said, but if he is victorious he shall receive what I have said.
[59(129)] For this is the way of which Moses, while he was alive, spoke to the people, saying, `Choose for yourself life, that you may live!’
[60(130)] But they did not believe him, or the prophets after him, or even myself who have spoken to them.
[61(131)] Therefore there shall not be grief at their destruction, so much as joy over those to whom salvation is assured.”
[62(132)] I answered and said, “I know, O Lord, that the Most High is now called merciful, because he has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world;
[63(133)] and gracious, because he is gracious to those who turn in repentance to his law;
[64(134)] and patient, because he shows patience toward those who have sinned, since they are his own works;
[65(135)] and bountiful, because he would rather give than take away;
[66(136)] and abundant in compassion, because he makes his compassions abound more and more to those now living and to those who are gone and to those yet to come,
[67(137)] for if he did not make them abound, the world with those who inhabit it would not have life;
[68(138)] and he is called giver, because if he did not give out of his goodness so that those who have committed iniquities might be relieved of them, not one ten-thousandth of mankind could have life;
[69(139)] and judge, because if he did not pardon those who were created by his word and blot out the multitude of their sins,
[70(140)] there would probably be left only very few of the innumerable multitude.”

8

[1] He answered me and said, “The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of few.
[2] But I tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides very much clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes; so is the course of the present world.
[3] Many have been created, but few shall be saved.”
[4] I answered and said, “Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart!
[5] For not of your own will did you come into the world, and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live.
[6] O Lord who are over us, grant to thy servant that we may pray before thee, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation of our understanding so that fruit may be produced, by which every mortal who bears the likeness of a human being may be able to live.
[7] For thou alone dost exist, and we are a work of thy hands, as thou hast declared.
[8] And because thou dost give life to the body which is now fashioned in the womb, and dost furnish it with members, what thou hast created is preserved in fire and water, and for nine months the womb which thou has formed endures thy creation which has been created in it.
[9] But that which keeps and that which is kept shall both be kept by thy keeping. And when the womb gives up again what has been created in it,
[10] thou hast commanded that from the members themselves (that is, from the breasts) milk should be supplied which is the fruit of the breasts,
[11] so that what has been fashioned may be nourished for a time; and afterwards thou wilt guide him in thy mercy.
[12] Thou hast brought him up in thy righteousness, and instructed him in thy law, and reproved him in thy wisdom.
[13] Thou wilt take away his life, for he is thy creation; and thou wilt make him live, for he is thy work.
[14] If then thou wilt suddenly and quickly destroy him who with so great labor was fashioned by thy command, to what purpose was he made?
[15] And now I will speak out: About all mankind thou knowest best; but I will speak about thy people, for whom I am grieved,
[16] and about thy inheritance, for whom I lament, and about Israel, for whom I am sad, and about the seed of Jacob, for whom I am troubled.
[17] Therefore I will pray before thee for myself and for them, for I see the failings of us who dwell in the land,
[18] and I have heard of the swiftness of the judgment that is to come.
[19] Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I will speak before thee.” The beginning of the words of Ezra’s prayer, before he was taken up. He said:
[20] “O Lord who inhabitest eternity, whose eyes are exalted and whose upper chambers are in the air,
[21] whose throne is beyond measure and whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the hosts of angels stand trembling
[22] and at whose command they are changed to wind and fire, whose word is sure and whose utterances are certain, whose ordinance is strong and whose command is terrible,
[23] whose look dries up the depths and whose indignation makes the mountains melt away, and whose truth is established for ever —
[24] hear, O Lord, the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the petition of thy creature; attend to my words.
[25] For as long as I live I will speak, and as long as I have understanding I will answer.
[26] O look not upon the sins of thy people, but at those who have served thee in truth.
[27] Regard not the endeavors of those who act wickedly, but the endeavors of those who have kept thy covenants amid afflictions.
[28] Think not on those who have lived wickedly in thy sight; but remember those who have willingly acknowledged that thou art to be feared.
[29] Let it not be thy will to destroy those who have had the ways of cattle; but regard those who have gloriously taught thy law.
[30] Be not angry with those who are deemed worse than beasts; but love those who have always put their trust in thy glory.
[31] For we and our fathers have passed our lives in ways that bring death, but thou, because of us sinners, are called merciful.
[32] For if thou hast desired to have pity on us, who have no works of righteousness, then thou wilt be called merciful.
[33] For the righteous, who have many works laid up with thee, shall receive their reward in consequence of their own deeds.
[34] But what is man, that thou art angry with him; or what is a corruptible race, that thou art so bitter against it?
[35] For in truth there is no one among those who have been born who has not acted wickedly, and among those who have existed there is no one who has not transgressed.
[36] For in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and goodness will be declared, when thou art merciful to those who have no store of good works.”
[37] He answered me and said, “Some things you have spoken rightly, and it will come to pass according to your words.
[38] For indeed I will not concern myself about the fashioning of those who have sinned, or about their death, their judgment, or their destruction;
[39] but I will rejoice over the creation of the righteous, over their pilgrimage also, and their salvation, and their receiving their reward.
[40] As I have spoken, therefore, so it shall be.
[41] “For just as the farmer sows many seeds upon the ground and plants a multitude of seedlings, and yet not all that have been sown will come up in due season, and not all that were planted will take root; so also those who have been sown in the world will not all be saved.”
[42] I answered and said, “If I have found favor before thee, let me speak.
[43] For if the farmer’s seed does not come up, because it has not received thy rain in due season, or if it has been ruined by too much rain, it perishes.
[44] But man, who has been formed by thy hands and is called thy own image because he is made like thee, and for whose sake thou hast formed all things — hast thou also made him like the farmer’s seed?
[45] No, O Lord who art over us! But spare thy people and have mercy on thy inheritance, for thou hast mercy on thy own creation.”
[46] He answered me and said, “Things that are present are for those who live now, and things that are future are for those who will live hereafter.
[47] For you come far short of being able to love my creation more than I love it. But you have often compared yourself to the unrighteous. Never do so!
[48] But even in this respect you will be praiseworthy before the Most High,
[49] because you have humbled yourself, as is becoming for you, and have not deemed yourself to be among the righteous in order to receive the greatest glory.
[50] For many miseries will affect those who inhabit the world in the last times, because they have walked in great pride.
[51] But think of your own case, and inquire concerning the glory of those who are like yourself,
[52] because it is for you that paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is prepared, plenty is provided, a city is built, rest is appointed, goodness is established and wisdom perfected beforehand.
[53] The root of evil is sealed up from you, illness is banished from you, and death is hidden; hell has fled and corruption has been forgotten;
[54] sorrows have passed away, and in the end the treasure of immortality is made manifest.
[55] Therefore do not ask any more questions about the multitude of those who perish.
[56] For they also received freedom , but they despised the Most High, and were contemptuous of his law, and forsook his ways.
[57] Moreover they have even trampled upon his righteous ones,
[58] and said in their hearts that there is not God — though knowing full well that they must die.
[59] For just as the things which I have predicted await you, so the thirst and torment which are prepared await them. For the Most High did not intend that men should be destroyed;
[60] but they themselves who were created have defiled the name of him who made them, and have been ungrateful to him who prepared life for them.
[61] Therefore my judgment is now drawing near;
[62] I have not shown this to all men, but only to you and a few like you.” Then I answered and said,
[63] “Behold, O Lord, thou hast now shown me a multitude of the signs which thou wilt do in the last times, but thou hast not shown me when thou wilt do them.”

9

[1] He answered me and said, “Measure carefully in your mind, and when you see that a certain part of the predicted signs are past,
[2] then you will know that it is the very time when the Most High is about to visit the world which he has made.
[3] So when there shall appear in the world earthquakes, tumult of peoples, intrigues of nations, wavering of leaders, confusion of princes,
[4] then you will know that it was of these that the Most High spoke from the days that were of old, from the beginning.
[5] For just as with everything that has occurred in the world, the beginning is evident, and the end manifest;
[6] so also are the times of the Most High: the beginnings are manifest in wonders and mighty works, and the end in requital and in signs.
[7] And it shall be that every one who will be saved and will be able to escape on account of his works, or on account of the faith by which he has believed,
[8] will survive the dangers that have been predicted, and will see my salvation in my land and within my borders, which I have sanctified for myself from the beginning.
[9] Then those who have now abused my ways shall be amazed, and those who have rejected them with contempt shall dwell in torments.
[10] For as many as did not acknowledge me in their lifetime, although they received my benefits,
[11] and as many as scorned my law while they still had freedom, and did not understand but despised it while an opportunity of repentance was still open to them,
[12] these must in torment acknowledge it after death.
[13] Therefore, do not continue to be curious as to how the ungodly will be punished; but inquire how the righteous will be saved, those to whom the age belongs and for whose sake the age was made.”
[14] I answered and said,
[15] “I said before, and I say now, and will say it again: there are more who perish than those who will be saved,
[16] as a wave is greater than a drop of water.”
[17] He answered me and said, “As is the field, so is the seed; and as are the flowers, so are the colors; and as is the work, so is the product; and as is the farmer, so is the threshing floor.
[18] For there was a time in this age when I was preparing for those who now exist, before the world was made for them to dwell in, and no one opposed me then, for no one existed;
[19] but now those who have been created in this world which is supplied both with an unfailing table and an inexhaustible pasture, have become corrupt in their ways.
[20] So I considered my world, and behold, it was lost, and my earth, and behold, it was in peril because of the devices of those who had come into it.
[21] And I saw and spared some with great difficulty, and saved for myself one grape out of a cluster, and one plant out of a great forest.
[22] So let the multitude perish which has been born in vain, but let my grape and my plant be saved, because with much labor I have perfected them.
[23] But if you will let seven days more pass — do not fast during them, however;
[24] but go into a field of flowers where no house has been built, and eat only of the flowers of the field, and taste no meat and drink no wine, but eat only flowers,
[25] and pray to the Most High continually — then I will come and talk with you.”
[26] So I went, as he directed me, into the field which is called Ardat; and there I sat among the flowers and ate of the plants of the field, and the nourishment they afforded satisfied me.
[27] And after seven days, as I lay on the grass, my heart was troubled again as it was before.
[28] And my mouth was opened, and I began to speak before the Most High, and said,
[29] “O Lord, thou didst show thyself among us, to our fathers in the wilderness when they came out from Egypt and when they came into the untrodden and unfruitful wilderness;
[30] and thou didst say, `Hear me, O Israel, and give heed to my words, O descendants of Jacob.
[31] For behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring forth fruit in you and you shall be glorified through it for ever.’
[32] But though our fathers received the law, they did not keep it, and did not observe the statutes; yet the fruit of the law did not perish — for it could not, because it was thine.
[33] Yet those who received it perished, because they did not keep what had been sown in them.
[34] And behold, it is the rule that, when the ground has received seed, or the sea a ship, or any dish food or drink, and when it happens that what was sown or what was launched or what was put in is destroyed,
[35] they are destroyed, but the things that held them remain; yet with us it has not been so.
[36] For we who have received the law and sinned will perish, as well as our heart which received it;
[37] the law, however, does not perish but remains in its glory.”
[38] When I said these things in my heart, I lifted up my eyes and saw a woman on my right, and behold, she was mourning and weeping with a loud voice, and was deeply grieved at heart, and her clothes were rent, and there were ashes on her head.
[39] Then I dismissed the thoughts with which I had been engaged, and turned to her
[40] and said to her, “Why are you weeping, and why are you grieved at heart?”
[41] And she said to me, “Let me alone, my lord, that I may weep for myself and continue to mourn, for I am greatly embittered in spirit and deeply afflicted.”
[42] And I said to her, “What has happened to you? Tell me.”
[43] And she said to me, “Your servant was barren and had no child, though I lived with my husband thirty years.
[44] And every hour and every day during those thirty years I besought the Most High, night and day.
[45] And after thirty years God heard your handmaid, and looked upon my low estate, and considered my distress, and gave me a son. And I rejoiced greatly over him, I and my husband and all my neighbors; and we gave great glory to the Mighty One.
[46] And I brought him up with much care.
[47] So when he grew up and I came to take a wife for him, I set a day for the marriage feast.

10

[1] “But it happened that when my son entered his wedding chamber, he fell down and died.
[2] Then we all put out the lamps, and all my neighbors attempted to console me; and I remained quiet until evening of the second day.
[3] But when they all had stopped consoling me, that I might be quiet, I got up in the night and fled, and came to this field, as you see.
[4] And now I intend not to return to the city, but to stay here, and I will neither eat nor drink, but without ceasing mourn and fast until I die.”
[5] Then I broke off the reflections with which I was still engaged, and answered her in anger and said,
[6] “You most foolish of women, do you not see our mourning, and what has happened to us?
[7] For Zion, the mother of us all, is in deep grief and great affliction.
[8] It is most appropriate to mourn now, because we are all mourning, and to be sorrowful, because we are all sorrowing; you are sorrowing for one son, but we, the whole world, for our mother.
[9] Now ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she who ought to mourn over so many who have come into being upon her.
[10] And from the beginning all have been born of her, and others will come; and behold, almost all go to perdition, and a multitude of them are destined for destruction.
[11] Who then ought to mourn the more, she who lost so great a multitude, or you who are grieving for one?
[12] But if you say to me, `My lamentation is not like the earth’s, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth in pain and bore in sorrow;
[13] but it is with the earth according to the way of the earth — the multitude that is now in it goes as it came’;
[14] then I say to you, `As you brought forth in sorrow, so the earth also has from the beginning given her fruit, that is, man, to him who made her.’
[15] Now, therefore, keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear bravely the troubles that have come upon you.
[16] For if you acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will receive your son back in due time, and will be praised among women.
[17] Therefore go into the city to your husband.”
[18] She said to me, “I will not do so; I will not go into the city, but I will die here.”
[19] So I spoke again to her, and said,
[20] “Do not say that, but let yourself be persuaded because of the troubles of Zion, and be consoled because of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
[21] For you see that our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar thrown down, our temple destroyed;
[22] our harp has been laid low, our song has been silenced, and our rejoicing has been ended; the light of our lampstand has been put out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted, and the name by which we are called has been profaned; our free men have suffered abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into captivity, our virgins have been defiled, and our wives have been ravished; our righteous men have been carried off, our little ones have been cast out, our young men have been enslaved and our strong men made powerless.
[23] And, what is more than all, the seal of Zion — for she has now lost the seal of her glory, and has been given over into the hands of those that hate us.
[24] Therefore shake off your great sadness and lay aside your many sorrows, so that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, a relief from your troubles.”
[25] While I was talking to her, behold, her face suddenly shone exceedingly, and her countenance flashed like lightning, so that I was too frightened to approach her, and my heart was terrified. While I was wondering what this meant,
[26] behold, she suddenly uttered a loud and fearful cry, so that the earth shook at the sound.
[27] And I looked, and behold, the woman was no longer visible to me, but there was an established city, and a place of huge foundations showed itself. Then I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice and said,
[28] “Where is the angel Uriel, who came to me at first? For it was he who brought me into this overpowering bewilderment; my end has become corruption, and my prayer a reproach.”
[29] As I was speaking these words, behold, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked upon me;
[30] and behold, I lay there like a corpse and I was deprived of my understanding. Then he grasped my right hand and strengthened me and set me on my feet, and said to me,
[31] “What is the matter with you? And why are you troubled? And why are your understanding and the thoughts of your mind troubled?”
[32] I said, “Because you have forsaken me! I did as you directed, and went out into the field, and behold, I saw, and still see, what I am unable to explain.”
[33] He said to me, “Stand up like a man, and I will instruct you.”
[34] I said, “Speak, my lord; only do not forsake me, lest I die before my time.
[35] For I have seen what I did not know, and I have heard what I do not understand.
[36] Or is my mind deceived, and my soul dreaming?
[37] Now therefore I entreat you to give your servant an explanation of this bewildering vision.”
[38] He answered me and said, “Listen to me and I will inform you, and tell you about the things which you fear, for the Most High has revealed many secrets to you.
[39] For he has seen your righteous conduct, that you have sorrowed continually for your people, and mourned greatly over Zion.
[40] This therefore is the meaning of the vision.
[41] The woman who appeared to you a little while ago, whom you saw mourning and began to console —
[42] but you do not now see the form of a woman, but an established city has appeared to you —
[43] and as for her telling you about the misfortune of her son, this is the interpretation:
[44] This woman whom you saw, whom you now behold as an established city, is Zion.
[45] And as for her telling you that she was barren for thirty years, it is because there were three thousand years in the world before any offering was offered in it.
[46] And after three thousand years Solomon built the city, and offered offerings; then it was that the barren woman bore a son.
[47] And as for her telling you that she brought him up with much care, that was the period of residence in Jerusalem.
[48] And as for her saying to you , `When my son entered his wedding chamber he died,’ and that misfortune had overtaken her, that was the destruction which befell Jerusalem.
[49] And behold, you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to console her for what had happened.
[50] For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and profoundly distressed for her, has shown you the brilliance of her glory, and the loveliness of her beauty.
[51] Therefore I told you to remain in the field where no house had been built,
[52] for I knew that the Most High would reveal these things to you.
[53] Therefore I told you to go into the field where there was no foundation of any building,
[54] for no work of man’s building could endure in a place where the city of the Most High was to be revealed.
[55] “Therefore do not be afraid, and do not let your heart be terrified; but go in and see the splendor and vastness of the building, as far as it is possible for your eyes to see it,
[56] and afterward you will hear as much as your ears can hear.
[57] For you are more blessed than many, and you have been called before the Most High, as but few have been.
[58] But tomorrow night you shall remain here,
[59] and the Most High will show you in those dream visions what the Most High will do to those who dwell on earth in the last days.” So I slept that night and the following one, as he had commanded me.

11

[1] On the second night I had a dream, and behold, there came up from the sea an eagle that had twelve feathered wings and three heads.
[2] And I looked, and behold, he spread his wings over all the earth, and all the winds of heaven blew upon him, and the clouds were gathered about him.
[3] And I looked, and out of his wings there grew opposing wings; but they became little, puny wings.
[4] But his heads were at rest; the middle head was larger than the other heads, but it also was at rest with them.
[5] And I looked, and behold, the eagle flew with his wings, to reign over the earth and over those who dwell in it.
[6] And I saw how all things under heaven were subjected to him, and no one spoke against him, not even one creature that was on the earth.
[7] And I looked, and behold, the eagle rose upon his talons, and uttered a cry to his wings, saying,
[8] “Do not all watch at the same time; let each sleep in his own place, and watch in his turn;
[9] but let the heads be reserved for the last.”
[10] And I looked, and behold, the voice did not come from his heads, but from the midst of his body.
[11] And I counted his opposing wings, and behold, there were eight of them.
[12] And I looked, and behold, on the right side one wing arose, and it reigned over all the earth.
[13] And while it was reigning it came to its end and disappeared, so that its place was not seen. Then the next wing arose and reigned, and it continued to reign a long time.
[14] And while it was reigning its end came also, so that it disappeared like the first.
[15] And behold, a voice sounded, saying to it.
[16] “Hear me, you who have ruled the earth all this time; I announce this to you before you disappear.
[17] After you no one shall rule as long as you, or even half as long.”
[18] Then the third wing raised itself up, and held the rule like the former ones, and it also disappeared.
[19] And so it went with all the wings; they wielded power one after another and then were never seen again.
[20] And I looked, and behold, in due course the wings that followed also rose up on the right side, in order to rule. There were some of them that ruled, yet disappeared suddenly;
[21] and others of them rose up, but did not hold the rule.
[22] And after this I looked, and behold, the twelve wings and the two little wings disappeared;
[23] and nothing remained on the eagle’s body except the three heads that were at rest and six little wings.
[24] And I looked, and behold, two little wings separated from the six and remained under the head that was on the right side; but four remained in their place.
[25] And I looked, and behold, these little wings planned to set themselves up and hold the rule.
[26] And I looked, and behold, one was set up, but suddenly disappeared;
[27] a second also, and this disappeared more quickly than the first.
[28] And I looked, and behold, the two that remained were planning between themselves to reign together;
[29] and while they were planning, behold, one of the heads that were at rest (the one which was in the middle) awoke; for it was greater than the other two heads.
[30] And I saw how it allied the two heads with itself,
[31] and behold, the head turned with those that were with it, and it devoured the two little wings which were planning to reign.
[32] Moreover this head gained control of the whole earth, and with much oppression dominated its inhabitants; and it had greater power over the world than all the wings that had gone before.
[33] And after this I looked, and behold, the middle head also suddenly disappeared, just as the wings had done.
[34] But the two heads remained, which also ruled over the earth and its inhabitants.
[35] And I looked, and behold, the head on the right side devoured the one on the left.
[36] Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Look before you and consider what you see.”
[37] And I looked, and behold, a creature like a lion was aroused out of the forest, roaring; and I heard how he uttered a man’s voice to the eagle, and spoke, saying,
[38] “Listen and I will speak to you. The Most High says to you,
[39] `Are you not the one that remains of the four beasts which I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them?
[40] You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with much terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have dwelt on the earth with deceit.
[41] And you have judged the earth, but not with truth;
[42] for you have afflicted the meek and injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed the dwellings of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the walls of those who did you no harm.
[43] And so your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One.
[44] And the Most High has looked upon his times, and behold, they are ended, and his ages are completed!
[45] Therefore you will surely disappear, you eagle, and your terrifying wings, and your most evil little wings, and your malicious heads, and your most evil talons, and your whole worthless body,
[46] so that the whole earth, freed from your violence, may be refreshed and relieved, and may hope for the judgment and mercy of him who made it.'”

12

[1] While the lion was saying these words to the eagle, I looked,
[2] and behold, the remaining head disappeared. And the two wings that had gone over to it arose and set themselves up to reign, and their reign was brief and full of tumult.
[3] And I looked, and behold, they also disappeared, and the whole body of the eagle was burned, and the earth was exceedingly terrified. Then I awoke in great perplexity of mind and great fear, and I said to my spirit,
[4] “Behold, you have brought this upon me, because you search out the ways of the Most High.
[5] Behold, I am still weary in mind and very weak in my spirit, and not even a little strength is left in me, because of the great fear with which I have been terrified this night.
[6] Therefore I will now beseech the Most High that he may strengthen me to the end.”
[7] And I said, “O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight, and if I have been accounted righteous before thee beyond many others, and if my prayer has indeed come up before thy face,
[8] strengthen me and show me, thy servant, the interpretation and meaning of this terrifying vision, that thou mayest fully comfort my soul.
[9] For thou hast judged me worthy to be shown the end of the times and the last events of the times.”
[10] He said to me, “This is the interpretation of this vision which you have seen:
[11] The eagle which you saw coming up from the sea is the fourth kingdom which appeared in a vision to your brother Daniel.
[12] But it was not explained to him as I now explain or have explained it to you.
[13] Behold, the days are coming when a kingdom shall arise on earth, and it shall be more terrifying than all the kingdoms that have been before it.
[14] And twelve kings shall reign in it, one after another.
[15] But the second that is to reign shall hold sway for a longer time than any other of the twelve.
[16] This is the interpretation of the twelve wings which you saw.
[17] As for your hearing a voice that spoke, coming not from the eagle’s heads but from the midst of his body, this is the interpretation:
[18] In the midst of the time of that kingdom great struggles shall arise, and it shall be in danger of falling; nevertheless it shall not fall then, but shall regain its former power.
[19] As for your seeing eight little wings clinging to his wings, this is the interpretation:
[20] Eight kings shall arise in it, whose times shall be short and their years swift;
[21] and two of them shall perish when the middle of its time draws near; and four shall be kept for the time when its end approaches; but two shall be kept until the end.
[22] As for your seeing three heads at rest, this is the interpretation:
[23] In its last days the Most High will raise up three kings, and they shall renew many things in it, and shall rule the earth
[24] and its inhabitants more oppressively than all who were before them; therefore they are called the heads of the eagle.
[25] For it is they who shall sum up his wickedness and perform his last actions.
[26] As for your seeing that the large head disappeared, one of the kings shall die in his bed, but in agonies.
[27] But as for the two who remained, the sword shall devour them.
[28] For the sword of one shall devour him who was with him; but he also shall fall by the sword in the last days.
[29] As for your seeing two little wings passing over to the head which was on the right side,
[30] this is the interpretation: It is these whom the Most High has kept for the eagle’s end; this was the reign which was brief and full of tumult, as you have seen.
[31] “And as for the lion whom you saw rousing up out of the forest and roaring and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness, and as for all his words that you have heard,
[32] this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David, and will come and speak to them; he will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will cast up before them their contemptuous dealings.
[33] For first he will set them living before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them.
[34] But he will deliver in mercy the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.
[35] This is the dream that you saw, and this is its interpretation.
[36] And you alone were worthy to learn this secret of the Most High.
[37] Therefore write all these things that you have seen in a book, and put it in a hidden place;
[38] and you shall teach them to the wise among your people, whose hearts you know are able to comprehend and keep these secrets.
[39] But wait here seven days more, so that you may be shown whatever it pleases the Most High to show you.” Then he left me.
[40] When all the people heard that the seven days were past and I had not returned to the city, they all gathered together, from the least to the greatest, and came to me and spoke to me, saying,
[41] “How have we offended you, and what harm have we done you, that you have forsaken us and sit in this place?
[42] For of all the prophets you alone are left to us, like a cluster of grapes from the vintage, and like a lamp in a dark place, and like a haven for a ship saved from a storm.
[43] Are not the evils which have befallen us sufficient?
[44] Therefore if you forsake us, how much better it would have been for us if we also had been consumed in the burning of Zion!
[45] For we are no better than those who died there.” And they wept with a loud voice. Then I answered them and said,
[46] “Take courage, O Israel; and do not be sorrowful, O house of Jacob;
[47] for the Most High has you in remembrance, and the Mighty One has not forgotten you in your struggle.
[48] As for me, I have neither forsaken you nor withdrawn from you; but I have come to this place to pray on account of the desolation of Zion, and to seek mercy on account of the humiliation of our sanctuary.
[49] Now go, every one of you to his house, and after these days I will come to you.”
[50] So the people went into the city, as I told them to do.
[51] But I sat in the field seven days, as the angel had commanded me; and I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was of plants during those days.

13

[1] After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night;
[2] and behold, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up all its waves.
[3] And I looked, and behold, this wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I looked, and behold, that man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled,
[4] and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire.
[5] After this I looked, and behold, an innumerable multitude of men were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea.
[6] And I looked, and behold, he carved out for himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it. < br>[7] And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.
[8] After this I looked, and behold, all who had gathered together against him, to wage war with him, were much afraid, yet dared to fight.
[9] And behold, when he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war;
[10] but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth as it were a stream of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks.
[11] All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm, and fell on the onrushing multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them all up, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.
[12] After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to him another multitude which was peaceable.
[13] Then many people came to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings. Then in great fear I awoke; and I besought the Most High, and said,
[14] “From the beginning thou hast shown thy servant these wonders, and hast deemed me worthy to have my prayer heard by thee;
[15] now show me also the interpretation of this dream.
[16] For as I consider it in my mind, alas for those who will be left in those days! And still more, alas for those who are not left!
[17] For those who are not left will be sad,
[18] because they understand what is reserved for the last days, but cannot attain it.
[19] But alas for those also who are left, and for that very reason! For they shall see great dangers and much distress, as these dreams show.
[20] Yet it is better to come into these things, though incurring peril, than to pass from the world like a cloud, and not to see what shall happen in the last days.” He answered me and said,
[21] “I will tell you the interpretation of the vision, and I will also explain to you the things which you have mentioned.
[22] As for what you said about those who are left, this is the interpretation:
[23] He who brings the peril at that time will himself protect those who fall into peril, who have works and have faith in the Almighty.
[24] Understand therefore that those who are left are more blessed than those who have died.
[25] This is the interpretation of the vision: As for your seeing a man come up from the heart of the sea,
[26] this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who will himself deliver his creation; and he will direct those who are left.
[27] And as for your seeing wind and fire and a storm coming out of his mouth,
[28] and as for his not holding a spear or weapon of war, yet destroying the onrushing multitude which came to conquer him, this is the interpretation:
[29] Behold, the days are coming when the Most High will deliver those who are on the earth.
[30] And bewilderment of mind shall come over those who dwell on the earth.
[31] And they shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom.
[32] And when these things come to pass and the signs occur which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man coming up from the sea.
[33] And when all the nations hear his voice, every man shall leave his own land and the warfare that they have against one another;
[34] and an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and conquer him.
[35] But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion.
[36] And Zion will come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands.
[37] And he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness (this was symbolized by the storm),
[38] and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and the torments with which they are to be tortured (which were symbolized by the flames), and will destroy them without effort by the law (which was symbolized by the fire).
[39] And as for your seeing him gather to himself another multitude that was peaceable,
[40] these are the ten tribes which were led away from their own land into captivity in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser the king of the Assyrians led captive; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land.
[41] But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where mankind had never lived,
[42] that there at least they might keep their statutes which they had not kept in their own land.
[43] And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates river.
[44] For at that time the Most High performed signs for them, and stopped the channels of the river until they had passed over.
[45] Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth.
[46] “Then they dwelt there until the last times; and now, when they are about to come again,
[47] the Most High will stop the channels of the river again, so that they may be able to pass over. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together in peace.
[48] But those who are left of your people, who are found within my holy borders, shall be saved.
[49] Therefore when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain.
[50] And then he will show them very many wonders.”
[51] I said, “O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why did I see the man coming up from the heart of the sea?”
[52] He said to me, “Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day.
[53] This is the interpretation of the dream which you saw. And you alone have been enlightened about this,
[54] because you have forsaken your own ways and have applied yourself to mine, and have searched out my law;
[55] for you have devoted your life to wisdom, and called understanding your mother.
[56] Therefore I have shown you this, for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. And after three more days I will tell you other things, and explain weighty and wondrous matters to you.”
[57] Then I arose and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High because of his wonders, which he did from time to time,
[58] and because he governs the times and whatever things come to pass in their seasons. And I stayed there three days.

14

[1] On the third day, while I was sitting under an oak, behold, a voice came out of a bush opposite me and said, “Ezra, Ezra.”
[2] And I said, “Here I am, Lord,” and I rose to my feet.
[3] Then he said to me, “I revealed myself in a bush and spoke to Moses, when my people were in bondage in Egypt;
[4] and I sent him and led my people out of Egypt; and I led him up on Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me many days;
[5] and I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him, saying,
[6] `These words you shall publish openly, and these you shall keep secret.’
[7] And now I say to you;
[8] Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown you, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations that you have heard;
[9] for you shall be taken up from among men, and henceforth you shall live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended.
[10] For the age has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old.
[11] For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine of its parts have already passed,
[12] as well as half of the tenth part; so two of its parts remain, besides half of the tenth part.
[13] Now therefore, set your house in order, and reprove your people; comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those that are wise. And now renounce the life that is corruptible,
[14] and put away from you mortal thoughts; cast away from you the burdens of man, and divest yourself now of your weak nature,
[15] and lay to one side the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hasten to escape from these times.
[16] For evils worse than those which you have now seen happen shall be done hereafter.
[17] For the weaker the world becomes through old age, the more shall evils be multiplied among its inhabitants.
[18] For truth shall go farther away, and falsehood shall come near. For the eagle which you saw in the vision is already hastening to come.”
[19] Then I answered and said, “Let me speak in thy presence, Lord.
[20] For behold, I will go, as thou hast commanded me, and I will reprove the people who are now living; but who will warn those who will be born hereafter? For the world lies in darkness, and its inhabitants are without light.
[21] For thy law has been burned, and so no one knows the things which have been done or will be done by thee.
[22] If then I have found favor before thee, send the Holy Spirit into me, and I will write everything that has happened in the world from the beginning, the things which were written in thy law, that men may be able to find the path, and that those who wish to live in the last days may live.”
[23] He answered me and said, “Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days.
[24] But prepare for yourself many writing tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel — these five, because they are trained to write rapidly;
[25] and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished.
[26] And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write.”
[27] Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said,
[28] “Hear these words, O Israel
[29] At first our fathers dwelt as aliens in Egypt, and they were delivered from there,
[30] and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them.
[31] Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your fathers committed iniquity and did not keep the ways which the Most High commanded you.
[32] And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given.
[33] And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior.
[34] If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy.
[35] For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed.
[36] But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days.”
[37] So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we proceeded to the field, and remained there.
[38] And on the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, “Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink.”
[39] Then I opened my mouth, and behold, a full cup was offered to me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire.
[40] And I took it and drank; and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding, and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory;
[41] and my mouth was opened, and was no longer closed.
[42] And the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, in characters which they did not know. They sat forty days, and wrote during the daytime, and ate their bread at night.
[43] As for me, I spoke in the daytime and was not silent at night.
[44] So during the forty days ninety-four books were written.
[45] And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, “Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them;
[46] but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people.
[47] For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge.”
[48] And I did so.

15

[1] The Lord says, “Behold, speak in the ears of my people the words of the prophecy which I will put in your mouth,
[2] and cause them to be written on paper; for they are trustworthy and true.
[3] Do not fear the plots against you, and do not be troubled by the unbelief of those who oppose you.
[4] For every unbeliever shall die in his unbelief.”
[5] “Behold,” says the Lord, “I bring evils upon the world, the sword and famine and death and destruction.
[6] For iniquity has spread throughout every land, and their harmful deeds have reached their limit.
[7] Therefore,” says the Lord,
[8] “I will be silent no longer concerning their ungodly deeds which they impiously commit, neither will I tolerate their wicked practices. Behold, innocent and righteous blood cries out to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually.
[9] I will surely avenge them,” says the Lord, “and will receive to myself all the innocent blood from among them.
[10] Behold, my people is led like a flock to the slaughter; I will not allow them to live any longer in the land of Egypt,
[11] but I will bring them out with a mighty hand and with an uplifted arm, and will smite Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy all its land.”
[12] Let Egypt mourn, and its foundations, for the plague of chastisement and punishment that the Lord will bring upon it.
[13] Let the farmers that till the ground mourn, because their seed shall fail and their trees shall be ruined by blight and hail and by a terrible tempest.
[14] Alas for the world and for those who live in it!
[15] For the sword and misery draw near them, and nation shall rise up to fight against nation, with swords in their hands.
[16] For there shall be unrest among men; growing strong against one another, they shall in their might have no respect for their king or the chief of their leaders.
[17] For a man will desire to go into a city, and shall not be able.
[18] For because of their pride the cities shall be in confusion, the houses shall be destroyed, and people shall be afraid.
[19] A man shall have no pity upon his neighbors, but shall make an assault upon their houses with the sword, and plunder their goods, because of hunger for bread and because of great tribulation.
[20] “Behold,” says God, “I call together all the kings of the earth to fear me, from the rising sun and from the south, from the east and from Lebanon; to turn and repay what they have given them.
[21] Just as they have done to my elect until this day, so I will do, and will repay into their bosom.” Thus says the Lord God:
[22] “My right hand will not spare the sinners, and my sword will not cease from those who shed innocent blood on earth.”
[23] And a fire will go forth from his wrath, and will consume the foundations of the earth, and the sinners, like straw that is kindled.
[24] “Woe to those who sin and do not observe my commandments,” says the Lord;
[25] “I will not spare them. Depart, you faithless children! Do not pollute my sanctuary.”
[26] For the Lord knows all who transgress against him; therefore he will hand them over to death and slaughter.
[27] For now calamities have come upon the whole earth, and you shall remain in them; for God will not deliver you, because you have sinned against him.
[28] Behold, a terrifying sight, appearing from the east!
[29] The nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out with many chariots, and from the day that they set out, their hissing shall spread over the earth, so that all who hear them fear and tremble.
[30] Also the Carmonians, raging in wrath, shall go forth like wild boars of the forest, and with great power they shall come, and engage them in battle, and shall devastate a portion of the land of the Assyrians with their teeth.
[31] And then the dragons, remembering their origin, shall become still stronger; and if they combine in great power and turn to pursue them,
[32] then these shall be disorganized and silenced by their power, and shall turn and flee.
[33] And from the land of the Assyrians an enemy in ambush shall beset them and destroy one of them, and fear and trembling shall come upon their army, and indecision upon their kings.
[34] Behold, clouds from the east, and from the north to the south; and their appearance is very threatening, full of wrath and storm.
[35] They shall dash against one another and shall pour out a heavy tempest upon the earth, and their own tempest; and there shall be blood from the sword as high as a horse’s belly
[36] and a man’s thigh and a camel’s hock.
[37] And there shall be fear and great trembling upon the earth; and those who see that wrath shall be horror-stricken, and they shall be seized with trembling.
[38] And, after that, heavy storm clouds shall be stirred up from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west.
[39] And the winds from the east shall prevail over the cloud that was raised in wrath, and shall dispel it; and the tempest that was to cause destruction by the east wind shall be driven violently toward the south and west.
[40] And great and mighty clouds, full of wrath and tempest, shall rise, to destroy all the earth and its inhabitants, and shall pour out upon every high and lofty place a terrible tempest,
[41] fire and hail and flying swords and floods of water, that all the fields and all the streams may be filled with the abundance of those waters.
[42] And they shall destroy cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forests, and grass of the meadows, and their grain.
[43] And they shall go on steadily to Babylon, and shall destroy her.
[44] They shall come to her and surround her; they shall pour out the tempest and all its wrath upon her; then the dust and smoke shall go up to heaven, and all who are about her shall wail over her.
[45] And those who survive shall serve those who have destroyed her.
[46] And you, Asia, who share in the glamour of Babylon and the glory of her person —
[47] woe to you, miserable wretch! For you have made yourself like her; you have decked out your daughters in harlotry to please and glory in your lovers, who have always lusted after you.
[48] You have imitated that hateful harlot in all her deeds and devices; therefore God says,
[49] “I will send evils upon you, widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, to lay waste your houses and bring you to destruction and death.
[50] And the glory of your power shall wither like a flower, when the heat rises that is sent upon you.
[51] You shall be weakened like a wretched woman who is beaten and wounded, so that you cannot receive your mighty lovers.
[52] Would I have dealt with you so violently,” says the Lord,
[53] “If you had not always killed my chosen people, exulting and clapping your hands and talking about their death when you were drunk?
[54] Trick out the beauty of your face!
[55] The reward of a harlot is in your bosom, therefore you shall receive your recompense.
[56] As you will do to my chosen people,” says the Lord, “so God will do to you, and will hand you over to adversities.
[57] Your children shall die of hunger, and you shall fall by the sword, and your cities shall be wiped out, and all your people who are in the open country shall fall by the sword.
[58] And those who are in the mountains and highlands shall perish of hunger, and they shall eat their own flesh in hunger for bread and drink their own blood in thirst for water.
[59] Unhappy above all others, you shall come and suffer fresh afflictions.
[60] And as they pass they shall wreck the hateful city, and shall destroy a part of your land and abolish a portion of your glory, as they return from devastated Babylon.
[61] And you shall be broken down by them like stubble, and they shall be like fire to you.
[62] And they shall devour you and your cities, your land and your mountains; they shall burn with fire all your forests and your fruitful trees.
[63] They shall carry your children away captive, and shall plunder your wealth, and abolish the glory of your countenance.”

16

[1] Woe to you, Babylon and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria!
[2] Gird yourselves with sackcloth and haircloth, and wail for your children, and lament for them; for your destruction is at hand.
[3] The sword has been sent upon you, and who is there to turn it back?
[4] A fire has been sent upon you, and who is there to quench it?
[5] Calamities have been sent upon you, and who is there to drive them away?
[6] Can one drive off a hungry lion in the forest, or quench a fire in the stubble, when once it has begun to burn?
[7] Can one turn back an arrow shot by a strong archer?
[8] The Lord God sends calamities, and who will drive them away?
[9] Fire will go forth from his wrath, and who is there to quench it?
[10] He will flash lightning, and who will not be afraid? He will thunder, and who will not be terrified?
[11] The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly shattered at his presence?
[12] The earth and its foundations quake, the sea is churned up from the depths, and its waves and the fish also shall be troubled at the presence of the Lord and before the glory of his power.
[13] For his right hand that bends the bow is strong, and his arrows that he shoots are sharp and will not miss when they begin to be shot to the ends of the world.
[14] Behold, calamities are sent forth and shall not return until they come over the earth.
[15] The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out until it consumes the foundations of the earth.
[16] Just as an arrow shot by a mighty archer does not return, so the calamities that are sent upon the earth shall not return.
[17] Alas for me! Alas for me! Who will deliver me in those days?
[18] The beginning of sorrows, when there shall be much lamentation; the beginning of famine, when many shall perish; the beginning of wars, when the powers shall be terrified; the beginning of calamities, when all shall tremble. What shall they do in these circumstances, when the calamities come?
[19] Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish are sent as scourges for the correction of men.
[20] Yet for all this they will not turn from their iniquities, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
[21] Behold, provision will be so cheap upon earth that men will imagine that peace is assured for them, and then the calamities shall spring up on the earth — the sword, famine, and great confusion.
[22] For many of those who live on the earth shall perish by famine; and those who survive the famine shall die by the sword.
[23] And the dead shall be cast out like dung, and there shall be no one to console them; for the earth shall be left desolate, and its cities shall be demolished.
[24] No one shall be left to cultivate the earth or to sow it.
[25] The trees shall bear fruit, and who will gather it?
[26] The grapes shall ripen, and who will tread them? For in all places there shall be great solitude;
[27] one man will long to see another, or even to hear his voice.
[28] For out of a city, ten shall be left; and out of the field, two who have hidden themselves in thick groves and clefts in the rocks.
[29] As in an olive orchard three or four olives may be left on every tree,
[30] or as when a vineyard is gathered some clusters may be left by those who search carefully through the vineyard,
[31] so in those days three or four shall be left by those who search their houses with the sword.
[32] And the earth shall be left desolate, and its fields shall be for briers, and its roads and all its paths shall bring forth thorns, because no sheep will go along them.
[33] Virgins shall mourn because they have no bridegrooms; women shall mourn because they have no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, because they have no helpers.
[34] Their bridegrooms shall be killed in war, and their husbands shall perish of famine.
[35] Listen now to these things, and understand them, O servants of the Lord.
[36] Behold the word of the Lord, receive it; do not disbelieve what the Lord says.
[37] Behold, the calamities draw near, and are not delayed.
[38] Just as a woman with child, in the ninth month, when the time of her delivery draws near, has great pains about her womb for two or three hours beforehand, and when the child comes forth from the womb, there will not be a moment’s delay,
[39] so the calamities will not delay in coming forth upon the earth, and the world will groan, and pains will seize it on every side.
[40] “Hear my words, O my people; prepare for battle, and in the midst of the calamities be like strangers on the earth.
[41] Let him that sells be like one who will flee; let him that buys be like one who will lose;
[42] let him that does business be like one who will not make a profit; and let him that builds a house be like one who will not live in it;
[43] let him that sows be like one who will not reap; so also him that prunes the vines, like one who will not gather the grapes;
[44] them that marry, like those who will have no children; and them that do not marry, like those who are widowed.
[45] Because those who labor, labor in vain;
[46] for strangers shall gather their fruits, and plunder their goods, and overthrow their houses, and take their children captive; for in captivity and famine they will beget their children.
[47] Those who conduct business, do it only to be plundered; the more they adorn their cities, their houses and possessions, and their persons,
[48] the more angry I will be with them for their sins,” says the Lord.
[49] Just as a respectable and virtuous woman abhors a harlot,
[50] so righteousness shall abhor iniquity, when she decks herself out, and shall accuse her to her face, when he comes who will defend him who searches out every sin on earth.
[51] Therefore do not be like her or her works.
[52] For behold, just a little while, and iniquity will be removed from the earth, and righteousness will reign over us.
[53] Let no sinner say that he has not sinned; for God will burn coals of fire on the head of him who says, “I have not sinned before God and his glory.”
[54] Behold, the Lord knows all the works of men, their imaginations and their thoughts and their hearts.
[55] He said, “Let the earth be made,” and it was made; “Let the heaven be made,” and it was made.
[56] At his word the stars were fixed, and he knows the number of the stars.
[57] It is he who searches the deep and its treasures, who has measured the sea and its contents;
[58] who has enclosed the sea in the midst of the waters, and by his word has suspended the earth over the water;
[59] who has spread out the heaven like an arch, and founded it upon the waters;
[60] who has put springs of water in the desert, and pools on the tops of the mountains, to send rivers from the heights to water the earth;
[61] who formed man, and put a heart in the midst of his body, and gave him breath and life and understanding
[62] and the spirit of Almighty God; who made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places.
[63] Surely he knows your imaginations and what you think in your hearts! Woe to those who sin and want to hide their sins!
[64] Because the Lord will strictly examine all their works, and will make a public spectacle of all of you.
[65] And when your sins come out before men, you shall be put to shame; and your own iniquities shall stand as your accusers in that day.
[66] What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before God and his angels?
[67] Behold, God is the judge, fear him! Cease from your sins, and forget your iniquities, never to commit them again; so God will lead you forth and deliver you from all tribulation.
[68] For behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall carry off some of you and shall feed you what was sacrificed to idols.
[69] And those who consent to eat shall be held in derision and contempt, and be trodden under foot.
[70] For in many places and in neighboring cities there shall be a great insurrection against those who fear the Lord.
[71] They shall be like mad men, sparing no one, but plundering and destroying those who continue to fear the Lord.
[72] For they shall destroy and plunder their goods, and drive them out of their houses.
[73] Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, as gold that is tested by fire.
[74] “Hear, my elect,” says the Lord. “Behold, the days of tribulation are at hand, and I will deliver you from them.
[75] Do not fear or doubt, for God is your guide.
[76] You who keep my commandments and precepts,” says the Lord God, “do not let your sins pull you down, or your iniquities prevail over you.”
[77] Woe to those who are choked by their sins and overwhelmed by their iniquities, as a field is choked with underbrush and its path overwhelmed with thorns, so that no one can pass through!
[78] It is shut off and given up to be consumed by fire. 

Source – 11QPsa 26.9-15

The transcription and translation of Hymn to the Creator below are from James Sanders’ DJD edition:

9 Great and holy is the Lord, the holiest unto every generation.
9-10 Majesty precedes him, and following him is the rush of many waters.
10-11 Grace and truth surround his presence; truth and justice and righteousness are the foundation of his throne.
11-12 Separating light from deep darkness by the knowledge of his mind he established the dawn.
12 When all his angels witnessed it they sang aloud for he showed them what they had not known:
13 Crowning the hills with fruit, good food for every living being.
13-14 Blessed be he who makes the earth by his power, establishing the world in his wisdom.
14-15 By his understanding he stretched out the heavens, and brought forth [wind] from his st[orehouses].
15 He made [lightning for the rai]n, and caused mist[s] to rise [from] the end [of the earth].

Translated by K. H. KUHN, an English Translation of the Sahidic Version of the “Testament of Isaac” in JTS N.S. xviii (1967)

This is the going forth from the body of Isaac the patriarch. He died on the twenty-fourth of Mesore ( 17 August) in the peace of God. Amen.

1 Now Isaac the patriarch writes his testament and addresses his words of instruction to his son Jacob and to all those gathered round him. The blessings of the patriarch will be on those who come after us, even thos who listen to these words, to these words of instruction and these medicines of life, so that the grace of God may be with all those who believe. This is the end of obedience, as it is weitten. You have heard a word, let it abide with you – which means that a man should strive patiently with what he hears. God gives grace to those who believe: he who believes the words of God and of his saints will be an inheritor of the Kingdom of God. God has been with the generations gone by, which have passed away, because of their innocence and their faith towards God. He will be with the generations to come also.

2. Now it came to pass, when the time had come for the Patriarch Isaac to go forth from the body, God sent to him the angel of his father Abraham at dawn on the twenty- second of Mesore. He said to him. Hail, son of promise! (Now it was the daily custom of the righteous old man Isaac to converse with the angels.) He lifted his face up to the face of the angel : he saw him assuming the likeness of his father Abraham; and he opened his mouth and raised his voice and cried out in great joy, I have seen your face like someone who has seen the lace of God. The angel said to him. Listen, my beloved Isaac: 1 havee been sent for you by God to take you to the heavens and set you beside your father Abraham, so that you can see all the saints; for your father is expecting you and is coming for you himself. Behold, a throne has been set up for you close to your father Abraham, and your lot and your beloved son Jacob’s lot will surpass that of all others in the whole of God’s creation that is why you have been given for evermore the name of Patriarch and Father of the World. But the God-loviig old man Isaac said to the angel, ‘I am astonished by you,for you are my father’.The angel answered. my beloved Isaac, I am the angel that ministers to your father Abraham. But rejoice now, for I am to take you out of sorrow into gladness, out of suffering to rest for ever. I am to transport you from prison to a place where you can range at will — to a place of joy and gladness: I am to take you to where there is light and merriment and rejoicing and abundance that never fails. So then, draw up your testament and a statement for your household. for I am to translate you to rest for all eternity. Blessed is your father who begot you: blessed are you also: blessed is your son Jacob; and blessed are your descendants that will come after you.

3. Now Jacob heard them talking together, but he said nothing. Our father Isaac said to the angel with a heavy heart. What shall I do about the light of my eyes, my beloved son Jacob? For I am afraid of what Esau might do to him – you know the sittuation. The angel said to him: ‘My beloved Isaac, if all the nations on earth were gathered together, they would not be able to bring these blessings pronounced over Jacob to nothing. When you blessed him, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit blessed him; and Michael and Giabriel and all the angels and all the heavenly ones and the spirits ol all the righteous and your father Abraham all answered Amen. The sword therefore, shall not touch his body; but he shall be held in high honour and grow great and spread far and wide, and twelve thrones shall spring from him’. Our father Isaac said to the angel: ‘You have given me much comfort, but do not let Jacob know in case he is distressed’. The angel said to him: ‘My beloved Isaac, blessed is everv righteous man who goes forth from the body: blessed are they when they meet with God. Woe. woe, woe, three times woe to the sinner, because he has been born into this world: great sufferings will come to him. Isaac, beloved of God. give these instructions, therefore, to your sons, and the instructions your father has given you. Hide nothing from Jacob, so that he can write them as instructions for the generations that will come after you. and those who love God may live their lives in accordance with them. And take care that I am able to fetch you with Joy. without delay. The peace of my Lord that he has given me. I give to you, as I go to him who sent me’.

4. And when the angel had said this, he rose from the bed on which Isaac was sleeping. He went back to the worlds on high while our father Isaac watched him go, astonished at the vision he had seen. And he said: ‘ I shall not see daylight before I am sent for’. And while he was thinking this, behold, Jacob got up and came to the door of the room. The angel had cast a sleep over him so that he should not hear them; and he got up and ran to where his father slept and said to him: ‘My father, whom have you been talking to?’, Our father Isaac said to him: ‘You have heard, my son: your aged father has been sent for to be taken from you’, and Jacob put his arms round his father’s neck and wept, saying: ‘Ah me! My strength has left me: today you have made me an orphan, my father’. Our father Isaac embraced his son Jacob and wept; and both wept together until they could weep no more .And Jacob said: ‘Take me with you, father Isaac’. But Isaac replied: ‘I would not have it so, my son; wait until you arc sent for, my loved one. I remember on the day when the whole earth was shaken from end to end talking to my lord and father Abraham, and I had no strenght to do anything. What god has ordained, he has ordained for each one by sure authority: his ordinances are immutable. But I know, and I am glad that I am to go to God, and I am strengthened by a guiding spirit; for this is a way that no one can escape. Listen, my son, Whcrc is the first creation of the hands of God – our father Adam and our mother Eve? Where is Abel, and after him Mahalalel, and Jared, and our father Enoch, and Methuselah, and our father Noah, and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth? .After these Arpachshad, and Cainan, and Shelah, and Eber, and Reu, and Serug, and Nahor, and Terah, and my blessed father Abraham, and Lot his brother? All these experienced death except the perfect one, our father Enoch.’ .After these, forty-two generations more shall pass until Christ comes, born of a pure virgin called Mary. He will spend thirty years preaching in the world. At the end of all this, he will choose twelve men and reveal to them his mysteries and teach them about the archetype of his body and his true blood by means of bread and wine: and the bread will become the body of God and the wine will become the blood of God. And then he will ascend the tree of the cross and die for the whole creation, and rise on the third day and despoil hell, and deliver all mankind from the enemy. The generations to come will be saved by his body and by his blood until the end of time. The sacrifices of Christians will not cease until the end of time, whether offered secretly or openly; and the Antichrist will not appear so long as they offer up their sacrilice. Blessed is every man who performs that service and believes in it, because the archetypal service is in the heavens; and they shall celebrate with the Son of God in his kingdom’.

5. While the God-loving old man, our father Isaac, was saying this, all his household gathered round him and wept. His son told all his relations, and they came to him in tears. Now our father Isaac had made for himself a bedroom in his house; and when his sight began to fail he withdrew into it and remained there for a hundred years, fasting daily until evening, and offering for himself and his household a young animal for their soul. And he spent half the night in prayer and praise of Giod. Thus he lived an ascetic life for a hundred years. And he kept three periods of forty days as fasts each year, neither drinking wine nor eating fruit nor sleeping on his bed. And he prayed and gave thanks to God continually.

6. Now when it became generally known that the man of God had regained his sight, people gathered to him from everywhere, listening to his words of life; for they realized that a holy spirit of God was speaking in him. The great ones who came said to him: ‘You can now see clearly enough: how comes it that after your sight had failed you have now regained it?’ The God-Ioving old man smiled and said to them: ‘My sons and brothers, the God of my father Abraham has brought this about to comfort me in my old age. But the priest of God said to him: ‘Tell me what I ought to do, my father Isaac’. Our father Isaac said to him: ‘Keep your body holy, for the temple of God is set in it. Do not engage in controversy with other men in case an angry word escapes your mouth. Be on your guard against evil-speaking, against vainglory, and against uttering any thoughtless word; and see that your hands do not reach out after what is not yours. Do not offer a sacrifice with a blemish in it; and wash yourself with water when you approach the altar. Do not mix the thoughts of the world with the thoughts of God when you stand before him. Do your utmost to be at peace with everyone. When you stand before God and offer your sacrifice. when you come to offer it on the altar, you should recite privately a hundred prayers to God and make this confession to God saying: ‘Oh God, the incomprehensible, the unfathomable, the unattainable, the pure treasure, purify me in love; for I am flesh and blood and I run defiled to thee, that thou mayest purify me. I come burdened, and I ask that thou mayest lighten my burden: a fire will burn wood, and thy mercy will take away mine iniquities. Forgive me, me that am a sinner: I forgive the whole creation that thou hast made, 1 have no complaint against anyone: I am at peace with all that is made in thine image: I am unmoved by all the evil reasonings that have been brought before me. I am thy servant and the son of thy maidservant: 1 am the one who sins, thou art the one who forgives: forgive me and enable me to stand in thy holy place. Let my sacrifice be acceptable before thee: do not reject me because of my sins; but receive me unto thee, in spite of my many sins, like a sheep that has gone astray. God who hast been with our father Adam, and Abel. and Noah, and our father Abraham, and his son Isaac, who hast been with Jacob, be thou with me also, and receive my sacrilice from my hand’. As you recite all this, take your sacrifice and offer it; and strive heavenwards because of the sacrifice of God, so that you do not displease him. For the work of the priest is no small thing.

7. Every priest today (and till the end of time) must be temperate as regards his food and drink and sleep; neither should he talk about events connected with this world, nor listen to anyone who is talking about them. Rather should he spend his whole life occupied with prayer and vigils and recitation until our God sends for him in peace. Every man on earth, be he priest or monk (for after a long time they will love the life of holy retreat), must renounce the world and all its evil cares and join in the holy service the angels render in purity to God. And they will be honoured before God and his angels because of their holy sacrifices and their angelic service, which is like the archetype that is rendered in the heavens. And the angels will be their friends, because of their perfect faith and their purity; and great is their honour before God.In a word, whether great or small, sinlessness is required of us. The chief sins worthy of repentance are these: You shall not kill with the sword; You shall not kill with the tongue either: You shall not commit fornication with your body; You shall not commit fornication with your thoughts; You shall not go in to the young to defile them; You shall not be envious; You shall not be angry until the sun has set; You shall not be proud in dispositon; You shall not rejoice over your neighbour’s fall: You shall not slander; You shall not look at a woman with a lustful eye; and. Do not readily listen to slander. We need to beware of these things, and of others like them, till each one of us is secure from the wrath that shall be revealed from heaven.

8. Now when the people gathered about him heard him, they cried out aloud saying. This is meet and right..Amen. But the Godloving old man was silent: he drew up his blanket: he covered his face.And the people and the priest were silent, so that he could rest himself a little. But the angel of his father .Abraham came to him and took him up into the heavens. He saw terrors and tumults spread abroad on this side and on that; and it was a terror and a tumult fearful to behold. Some had the face of a camel, others had the face of a lion: some had the face of a dog, others had but one eye and had tongs in their hands, three ells long, all of iron. I looked, and behold, a man was brought, and those who brought him went with him. When they reached the beasts, those who went with him withdrew to one side: the lion advanced towards him, tore him apart into little pieces, and swallowed him; it then vomited him up, and he became like himself again; and the next beast treated him in just the same way. In short, they passed him on from one to the other; each one would tear him into pieces, swallow him, and then vomit him up; and he would become like himself again. I said to the angel: What sin has this man committed, my lord, that all this is done to him? The angel said to me: ‘This man you are looking at now had a quarrel with his neighbour, and he died without their being reconciled. See, he has been handed over to five chief tormentors: they spend a year tormenting him for every hour he spent Quarreling with his neighbour’. The angel also said to me: ‘My beloved Isaac, do you think these are the only ones? Believe me Isaac. beloved of God, there are six hundred thousand tormentors. They spend a year tormenting a man for every hour that he spends sinning – if he did not repent, that is, before he went forth From the body.

9. He led me on and brought me to a fiery river. the waters of wich were an ell high, and its noise like the noise of heaven’s thunder. And 1 saw a host of souls submerged in it; and those who were in that river cried out and wept aloud, and there was a great commotion and much groaning. But it is a discerning fire that does not touch the righteous, yet burns up sinners and boils them in the stench that surrounds them. I saw also the pit of the abyss, the smoke of which went up in clouds; I saw men sunk in it grinding their teeth, crying out and wailing, and each one was groaning. The angel said to me. Look and see these others too. And when I had looked at them. the angel said to me,” These are those who have committed the sin of Sodom; these are indeed in great distress. I saw also pits full of worms that do not sleep; I saw Abdemerouchos who is in charge of the punishments, made all of fire, threatening the tormentors in hell and saying. Beat them initil they know that God is. I saw a house built of fiery stone, and there were grown men underneath it, crying out and wailing. The angel said to me. Look with your eyes and contemplate the Punishments. I said to the angel, .My eyes could not endure it; for how long must These punishmenls go on? He said to me. Until the merciful God has pity.

10. After this the angel took me up into the heavens; I saw my father, Abraham and I made obeisance to him. He saluted me, with all the saints, and the saints honoured me because of my father; I they walked with me and took me to my Father, I worshipped him with all the saints. Songs of praise rang out, Thou art holy, thou art holy, thou art holy. King, Lord Sabaoth: the heavens and the earth are full of thy holy glory. The Lord said to my father from the holy place, ‘Is good that you have come, Abraham, your righteous root and faithful saint: it is good that you have come to our city. Whatever you may want to ask now, make your requests in the name of your beloved son Isaac, and they shall be yours indeed’. My father Abraham said. ‘Thine is the power, Oh Lord Almighty’. The Lord said to Abraham, ‘As for all those who are given the name of my beloved Isaac, let each one of them copy out his testament and honour it, and feed a poor man with bread in the name of my beloved Isaac on the day of his holy commemoration; to you will I grant them as sons in my kingdom’. Abraham said. ‘My Lord Almighty, if a man cannot copy out his testament,’ can’st thou not in thy mercy accept him, for thou art merciful and compassionate?’ The Lord said to Abraham: ‘Let him feed a poor man with bread, and I will give him to you as a gift and as a son in my kingdom, and he shall come with you to the first hour of the thousand years. Abraham said, ‘Suppose he is poor and has no means of getting bread?’ The Lord said, ‘Let him spend the night of my beloved Isaac’s commemoration without sleep, and I will give him to you as a gift and an inheritor in my kingdom’. My father Abraham said ‘Suppose he is weak and has no strength, can’st thou not in thy mercy accept him in love?’. The Lord said to him. ‘Let him offer up a little incense in the name of your beloved son Isaac, and I will give him to you as a son in my kingdom. If he has no means of getting incense, let him seek out a copy of his testament and read it on my beloved Isaac’s day. If he cannot read it, let him go and listen to others who can. If he is unable to do any of these things, let him go into his house and say a hundred Prayers, and I will give him to you as a son in my kingdom. But the most essential thing of all is that he should offer a sacrifice in my beloved Isaac’s name, For his body was offered as a sacrifice.’Yet not only will I give you everyone called by my beloved Isaac’s name as a son in my Kingdom; I will give you also everyone who does one of the things I have mentioned. And i will give you everyone who concerns himself about Isaac’slife and his testament, or does any compassionate act. such as giving someone a cup of water to drink, or who copies out his testament with his own hand, and those who read it with all their heart in faith, believing everything that I have said. .My power and the power of my beloved Son and the Holy Spirit shall be with them, and I will give them to you as sons in my kingdom. Peace to all of you, all my saints’.

11. Now when he had said this, songs of praise rang out. Thou art holy, thou art holy, thou art holy. King. Lord .Sabaoth; the heavens and the earth are full of thy holy glory. The Father said to Michael from the holy place: ‘Michael, my steward, go quickly and gather together the angels and all the saints, so that they may come and meet my beloved Isaac. And Michael sounded the trumpet at once. All the saints gathered with the angels and came to the couch of our father Isaac:’the Lord mounted his chariot, and the seraphim were in front of him with the angels.And when they came to our father Isaac’s couch, our father Isaac beheld our Lord’s face immediately turned towards him full of joy. He cried out: ‘It is good that thou hast come, my Lord, and thy great archangel Michael: it is good that you have come, tny father Abraham, and all the saints.

12. Now when he had said this, Jacob embraced his Father; he kissed his mouth and wept. Our father Isaac fixed his eyes on him and motioned to him to be silent. Our father Isaac said to the Lord: ‘Remember my beloved Jacob’. The Lord said to him: ‘My power shall be with him; and when the time comes and I become man and die and rise from the dead on the third day, I will put your name in everyone’s mind, and they will invoke you as their father.’ Isaac said to Jacob: ‘My beloved son, this is the last commandment I give you today; keep a sharp eye on yourself Do not dishonour the image of God; for what you do to the image of man, you do to the image of God, and God will do it to you too in the place where you will meet him. This is the beginning and the end. Now when he had said this, our Lord brought his soul out of his body, and it was white as snow. He greeted it: he set it on the chariot with him: he took it up into the heavens, with the seraphim making music before him, and all the angels and the saints. He freely granted him the good things of his kingdom for ever, and all the requests our father Abraham had asked of the Lord he freely granted him as a covenant for ever.

13. This is the going forth from the body of our father Isaac, the patriarch, on the twenty-fourth of the month Mesore.And the day on which his father Abraham offered him as a sacrifice is the eighteenth of Mechir.(12 February) The heavens and the earth were full of the soothing odour of our father Isaac, like choice silver: this is the sacrifice of our father Isaac the patriarch. When Abraham offered him as a sacrifice to God, the soothing odour of Isaac’s sacrifice went up into the heavens. Blessed is every man who performs an act of mercy in the name of these patriarchs, for they will be their sons in the kingdom of the heavens. For our Lord has made with them a covenant for ever, that everyone who performs an act of mercy on the day of their commemoration shall be given to them as a son in the kingdom of the heavens forever. And they shall come to the first hour of the thousand years, in accordance with the promise of our Lord, even our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom every glory is due to him and his good Father and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life to all creation and one in being with the Father and the Son, now and always, for ever and ever. Amen.