A
…. the angels that minister to the Presence of God
1s Glory
1 in that compartment of heaven
2 where abide [the beings who possess (true)] knowledge.
3 They fall
4 before the [cherubim and intone their blessings.
5 While they are soaring aloft,
6 there sounds a murmur of angel voices [ ],
7 and the lifting of their wings is accompanied by a clamor of joyous song. It is the murmur of angels blessing the Chariot-like Throne
8 above the firmament of the cherubim,
9 while they themselves, from be-low the place where the Glory dwells, go acclaiming in joyous song the [splendor of that radiant expanse (Whenever the wheels (of that Chariot) are in motion,
10 angels of sanctificafion
11 dart to and fro
12 all around it, between its glorious wheels. Like fiery apparitions are they,
18 spirits most holy, looking like streams of fire, in the likeness of burnished metal
14 or of lustrous ware; clothed in garments opalescent, a riot of wondrous hues, a diffusion(?)
15 of brightness; live angelic spirits,
16constantly coming and going beside the glorious wonderful Chariot.
17 Amid all the noise of their progress sounds also that murmured intonation of blessings, and whenever they come round, they shout their holy hallelujahs.) When (the angels) soar aloft, they soar in wondrous wise; and when they alight,
18 they stay standing.
19
Then the sound of the paean is hushed, and the murmur of angelic benedictions pervades all the camps20 of those godly beings. Anon, from the midst of their every contingent,21 they [give forth] a sound of praise, as, in [holy] wor(ship), each of their several ranks22 breaks forth into joyous song, one after another, in their several stations.23
B
4
Next, with seven words
1 of nobility
2 the fourth of the arch-princes
3 blesses
4 in the name of His
5 kingly nobility all who have walked uprightly; and with seven words of [ ] he blesses all who have laid foundations for [nobility]; and with seven words of vindication
6 he blesses all those godly beings who have upreared the structure of true knowledge;
7 that they may be blessed with His glorious mercy.
.
5Next, with seven words of sublime truth the fifth of the arch-princes blesses in the name of His mystical powers
8 all who have [led lives of] purity; and with seven words of [ ] he blesses all who have been eager to do His will; and with seven words of majesty he blesses all who have acknowledged His majesty;
9 that they may be blessed with [ ] majesty.
.
6Next, with seven words of His mystical prowess the sixth of the arch-princes blesses in the name of angelic prowess
10 all who have shown prowess of mind;
11 and with seven mystical words he blesses all whose way has been blameless;
12 that they may take their stand beside the beings eternal;
13 and (again) with seven mystical words he blesses all who have waited on Him;
14 that they may obtain in return
15 the mercy of His tender love.
7(Finally,) with seven words of His mystical holiness the seventh of the arch-princes blesses in the name of His holiness all the saintly beings among those who have laid foundations for (true) knowledge; and with seven mystical words he blesses all who have avouched the sublimity of His judgments;
16 that they may be blessed with stout shields; and with seven words of [ ]
17 he blesses all who have enlisted in the cause of righteousness,
18 who have sung continually the praises of His glorious kingdom;
19 that they may be blessed with peace.
20
THEREUPON all the arch-princes (in concert) [acclaim the praise of] the God of the angels, and all the [ . . . ]