The First Ethiopian Book of Maccabees

Chapter 1 There was a man whose name was ጺሩጻይዳን (Ṣirūṣāydān). He opened the way for evil and boasted in the multitude of his horses and in the strength of the army under his hand. And he had many idols of false gods to whom he bowed down, worshipped, and offered sacrifice day and night. And he imagined in the pride of his heart that it was they who gave him power and strength. And he thought in his heart that it was they who gave him dominion over all his kingdom. And again he imagined that it was they who gave him dominion in war and over everything he desired. And he offered sacrifice to himself day and night and appointed for them priests of the idols. And they (the idols) would imagine and tell him that his gods ate day and night, and they themselves ate from that abominable sacrifice. And again they would make others eat and drink like them, and moreover they would sacrifice to themselves and make others drink like them. And he believed in his idol which had no truth. And he imagined that it was they who created him, and that it was they who would save him and make him reign in the blindness of his heart and the folly of his mind, because Satan had entered his heart so that he did not know the God who created him, made him, and formed him, and from where he came, nor that he himself would go with him into judgment and be judged with him for this folly, and with those whom he had named gods, though they were not gods. And they call the dead "gods," for from where are they living?

Chapter 1 (continued) ...and concerning those who believe in them, those who have desired for themselves children of the womb of the living, because the spirit of Satan enters and deceives them into that which is with their idols, and he fulfills for them according to the desire of their heart, and appears to them as they wished. And when they saw that he had accomplished for them what they had, they would increase and do his will, even to the point of sacrificing their own children and offspring who came forth from their wombs, and they would shed pure blood, the blood of their children and offspring. And they did not spare them, because Satan had prepared for them according to their will, in order to bring them down with him into his own place, the evil sight of Gehenna, from which there is no exit, forever and ever. Now this Ṣirūṣāydān was proud, and he had gods, some in the form of a male and some in the form of females. And he boasted in these gods of his, which had no number, and he honored them one after another, and offered to them evening and morning. And to men he would make them eat, and to women he would make them eat from that unclean sacrifice. And to strangers he would make them eat, and one after another they would be punished for evil. And he made for his gods a house of ivory, of gold, and of silver, and he adorned them with gold and silver, and he made altars and tables in the courtyard of his house. And he placed there guards, and he would offer to them at every festival that he made sacrifice to his gods. And he himself thought that his gods ate and drank, and that they drank wine and the brightness of silver worked with oil of sandalwood.

And he said to them, "The nobles, come, give them to eat, my gods, from my sacrifice, and let them drink from all my libations. And if I have delayed them, I myself will provide for them. And from whatever polluted sacrifice he makes, all so that they may eat and drink." And he, in his wicked cunning, sent his messengers, those who would spy throughout all his kingdom, so that they might find out and know where there was one who would not offer sacrifice and who would not bow down to them, and they would bring him and judge him before him with the sword and with fire, and they would plunder his property and burn his house with fire, and all that he had they would take. "For I myself have shown them torment and judgment, if the worship of my gods has increased, and they have offered to my gods, for they are great and powerful, and by their power they have made us and created the sky and the earth and the great sea and the sun and the moon and the stars and the winds and the rains and everything that moves for our use and for our benefit. And those who do not worship them are judged with affliction and punishment, and they will not have mercy on them.

Chapter 2 There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Maccabaeus. And he was with them, and he found them, and he said to them, "Do not worship and do not bow down to the gods of King Antiochus, as he commanded. And if you are great, I will take you and lead you to the king, and I will confiscate all your property, as the king commanded." And they answered and said to him, "We are those who worship the God of our fathers, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything within them, the Creator of the sun and the moon and the stars and the clouds. He is the true God whom we worship and in whom we believe." And as for these, the nobles of the king, the four governors, each in his own region, who were plundering the property of their fields, when they wished, they seized these saints and took them from their hands, and there was no one to hinder them. And they went about plundering the property of their fields, for they were wicked, strong, and powerful, each one. And among them was one who could kill by strangling a bear and could strangle it like a hyena. And among them was one who could kill a lion with a single blow of a stone or with a single stroke of a club. And among them was one who, in battle, could kill a hundred at one time with a single sword. And thus their name and their renown were known throughout the land of Moab and to the Chaldeans. And they were strong in power, and they had discipline, courage, and voice. And the skill of their hands was marvelous, and beyond all that, the skill of their hearts, because they had denied the Lord God and did not fear death.

And when he had frightened the free men, who were unable to seize them, for they were strong, they hid in the cave of the mountain. And the free men entered the city and added to the outskirts of the city, and they threatened the people of the city, saying, "If I bring these enemies, the Maccabees, we will burn your city with fire and go up to the king and destroy your city." And at that time, the people of the city went out—the poor, the rich, the blind women, and the widows—and all of them gathered together and raised their eyes to the mountain, and they gathered toward them, saying, "Do not destroy us and our city." And then they wept together and prayed to the Lord, and they turned their faces toward the east and prayed to the Lord, raising their hands together, and they said, "We praise you, O Lord, for these enemies of your law and your commandment. But we do not wish to hear the voice of that wicked one who does not believe in your law, but rather in iron and bronze, in wood and stone, the work of human hands, and who takes his head like those who created him, while you are his creator, who kills and brings to life. But he is a shedder of human blood and an eater of human flesh. And we do not wish to see the face of that wicked one or hear his voice. But only if you command us, we will go to him and give our souls to death for your sake, and we will not hear the voice of that wicked one when he says, 'Worship my gods.'

And we, O Lord, with all our heart, we trusted in you, the God of our fathers, who do your will and walk in your law, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who tests the heart and the kidneys, and who distinguishes between the righteous and the sinner, and who sees what is within the heart of man, and there is none who can hide from you, for the hidden is revealed before you. And we have no other God besides you, and only you are our strength, firmness, and protection in this deed, that we may offer to you as we bring our souls to death for the sake of your holy name. And when the Israelites were in the land of Egypt, you heard the prayer of Jacob, and now we ask you, holy God. And when they appeared to them, one after another, their faces shone brighter than the sun, and they were more beautiful than before. Chapter 3 And a voice came from heaven, saying, "Fathers, sons, and Pentos, servants of the Most High God, as you have seen these who died and rose before you, so you will rise after your death, and your face will shine in the kingdom of heaven." And the hands of those went with them, and they became martyrs there. And then they prayed, bowed down, and prostrated themselves before God, and death and the king's judgment did not frighten them. And they went to those, the faithful and the elders, and they did not frighten them, but they were like a lamb without deceit. And when they arrived at them, they seized them, bound them, imprisoned them, scourged them, brought them to the king, and stood them before him.

The king answered and said to them, "You are rebels. Why do you not bow down and worship my gods?" And they answered, those holy and blessed and chosen and joyful ones, the brothers Abya, Silas, and Pentos, the honored ones, like a precious stone of the sea, they were firm, like one who has a mouth, and they said to that wicked king, "We will not bow down nor worship the unclean gods, who have no heart nor mind. Moreover, gold and silver, wood and stone, the work of human hands, the work of men, who have no soul nor heart nor mind, and they do not hear what is said to them, nor do they see what is shown to them." The king answered and said to them, "Why do you act thus and insult my honored gods? For they also know those who honor them and those who insult them." And they answered and said to him, "We insult them and do not honor them, for they are nothing to us." The king answered and said to them, "By your deeds I will judge you and I will show you the beauty of your faces in great torment and punishment and fire. And now tell me, will you bow down to my gods or not? For I will raise up against you the punishment of the whip, the sword, and the knife." And they answered and said to him, "We will not bow down nor worship the unclean gods." And the king commanded that they be beaten with rods of thorn, and then with whips, and after that they were to be cut open until their entrails were seen.

And then they imprisoned them and cast them into a pit of fire, which was within a pit of ashes, until he should decide what to do with them and judge them. And they cast them into a pit of fire and bound them with heavy fetters without mercy. And they remained in the house of fire for three days and three nights. And after three days, the king commanded that the judges, counselors, nobles, and elders of the land be summoned to the assembly. And the king, whose name was Zeruṣaydan, commanded that those blessed ones, Abya, Silas, and Pentos, be brought before him, while they were bound and in chains. And the king said to them, "What have you decided, while you have remained these three days without food and water? Is your evil intent still with you as before?" And the blessed ones answered, "We are righteous, and we do not say 'yes' to what you proclaim, which is full of evil and filth. And he is a deceiver, the deceiver." And he commanded that they be crucified and that their wounds be renewed, and their blood be shed upon the ground. And again he commanded that they be cast into a pit of fire, and that their flesh be burned. And they did so. And the blessed ones said to him, "Say, O king, the more you increase our torments, the more our glory increases." And again he commanded that wild beasts, leopards, wolves, and lions be brought to be set upon them, so that they might devour them as their food, until they would finish them, together with their bones.

And he commanded the keepers of the wild animals to set them upon them, and they did as he commanded them, and they bound the holy martyrs behind, and again they bound them with chains which they had made by forging. And the wild animals, however, tore at them while they were roaring. And when they reached the martyrs, they bowed down to them and worshipped them. And they went to their dens while roaring, and they terrified the keepers, and they drove them until they brought them before the face of the king. And there they killed some of the nobles and five souls, and many were broken while fleeing in fear. Over the second, even the king himself abandoned his throne and fled. And with difficulty they seized the animals and drove them to their dwelling place, and they came. And the martyrs returned and said to their brothers, "It is not fitting for us to flee after we have stood for martyrdom. And if you are afraid, go and flee for yourselves." And their younger brothers said, "We also will stand with you before the king, and if you die, we will die with you." And then the king saw within the bronze that his kingdom was shattered, that the blessed ones were loosed and would prevail. And the king commanded that the brothers be seized and cast into the prison until he should decide how to judge them. And they cast them into the prison and bound them with heavy chains within a pit of ashes without mercy.

And the king, Cyrus, said, "Bring to me these anointed ones, and the wicked ones, from the time they were strong, their hearts for these wild beasts, according to the strength of their power, likewise, as the evil of their deeds, and when I say, they will be ashamed, they will deny their hearts, and I will judge them according to the evil of their deeds." And he commanded that their flesh be burned with fire, so that it might become ash and be scattered there, and that the pieces of their flesh be cast like seed upon a great mountain, so that the wind might carry them away. And after he said this, three days passed, and he commanded that the saints be brought, and when they brought them, these saints commanded that fire be kindled in a furnace and in a great pit, and that they throw into it nails of iron and instruments of fire, pitch, papyrus, sulfur, and brimstone, and lime, and gravel, and asphalt, and sulfur. And when the furnace was heated, his messengers went to the king, saying, "We have done what you commanded; send men who will throw them in." And he commanded that they receive them and cast them into the furnace of fire, and they did as the king commanded them. And when they cast them in, the blessed ones commended their souls to the Lord, and the angels received them, while those who had thrown them in saw them, and they took their souls into the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, into the Garden of Joy.

Chapter 4 And that same Mameley, when he saw that they had died, commanded that their bodies be burned with fire until they became like ash, and that they be scattered to the wind. And he was unable to burn the hair of their heads from their bodies, and he brought them out from the furnace. And again they kindled fire upon them from morning until evening, and they did not consume them. And again he said to them, "Take them, go, and cast their bodies into the sea." And they did as the king commanded them, and they cast them into the sea. But the sea did not receive them; rather, it cast them up onto the shore, for heavy stones were bound upon them, and great rocks, and a millstone of iron, and they did not sink into the sea, but they floated upon the surface of the water, because the Spirit of the Lord was upon them. And they sought them in every place, but they did not find them. And he said, "Since their bodies have escaped me, what shall I do? I will cast their bodies to the wild beasts, that they may devour them." And they did likewise, and the wild beasts and the birds did not consume their bodies. And their bodies remained for a time, while eagles and birds shaded them with their wings from the heat of the sun, and their bodies were not consumed. And when they saw their bodies from afar, like the foot of the sun and like a tablet of light, the angels anointed their bodies. And he repented and regretted what he had done. And after that, the earth trembled and covered the bodies of the five martyrs.

And they appeared to him by night, to that wicked king. And when he awoke, he was afraid, and he wanted to flee from one corner to another corner of the house, because he thought they were coming to kill him. And because of this, he said, "What do you desire, my lords, and what shall I do for you?" And they answered him and said to him, "Are we not those whom you killed, and whom you burned, and whom you commanded to be cast into the sea? And we have asked you, because the Lord has preserved our bodies, for we trusted in him. Thanks be to the Lord, for he who trusts in him does not perish, and we who trusted in him have not been destroyed." And he said to them, "What compensation shall I give you for the evil I have done to you? For I did not know that such punishment would befall me. And now, tell me how much I shall give you as compensation, so that you may not take my life by death and not cast me alive into hell. For I have sinned; forgive me this transgression, for the law of your fathers is mercy." And the blessed martyrs answered him and said to him, "We do not desire evil in return for what you have done to us. There is the Lord our God who will judge you, for the judgment of the Lord is his." And they only appeared to you as if we were alive, because of the repentance of your heart and the sincerity of your faith. And as for us, while you thought you had killed us, you have given us life.

And you, and your gods, will descend into the punishment of the fire of fire, to a place from which there is no escape, forever. Woe to you and your gods, whom you worship and to whom you bow down, having abandoned prostration to the Lord who created you, while you are in error and do not know from where you were brought. Are you not fools, you who are transient, who now appear and then pass away? And the king answered and said to them, “What do you command me to do, that I may do all that you wish?” And they said to him, “No, it is not for our sake that we have enlightened you, but for your own sake, that you may not fall into the punishment of the fire of fire. For those are your gods: gold and silver, wood and stone, the work of human hands, which have no soul, nor heart, nor mind. For those are a sword that kills, and does not give life, does not give rest, does not give mercy, does not give grace, does not give honor, does not give light, does not give increase, does not give forgiveness, does not give planting. But they deceive you with the spirit of demons, who do not wish that even one person among men be saved. And many are those like you, blind of heart, who think that those created you, for you yourselves created them. For the spirits of demons and satans will gather and incite you according to your will, that they may drown you in a sea of fire. And you, abandon this error and worship the Lord, our God. And let this be for us instead of our death, a reward, that we may gain for our soul.

And he will thunder, and rage, and be bitter, and fear, for the swords of the kings are full. And he said, "Now I know that truly the dead will rise, those who were dust; and I am but a remnant of the slain." And after that, they hid themselves from the eyes of that king, and from that day he abandoned the care of their bodies. That Gizerzhaydan is proud and arrogant, and he rejoices in the error of his heart and in his gods, because they have led him astray for many days. And not only he himself erred, but those like him led many astray, until they abandoned the worship of their Creator, and sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, and did the will of their hearts, fornication and evil, which their father Satan taught them, to do harm and evil which God does not desire. And they defile their mothers, and they violate their sisters and their relatives, and everything that resembles this is an evil deed, and they violate their own souls, and they have become proud in their rebellion, because Satan has strengthened the hearts of those wicked ones. And that Gizerzhaydan is proud and arrogant, and he does not know his Creator, and he boasts in his gods. How then would God give the kingdom to those who do not know Him? And he said, "For if they live, if they rebel and come to Him, and if they rebel and come to Him, He will love them and preserve their kingdom; but if they are proud, He will punish them with the thunder of Gehenna forever.

The king, as great as his kingdom is, fears the Lord God; and the judge, as great as his judgment is, is judged well by his Creator. And the nobles, elders, rich, and mighty, as great as their glory is, are humbled before their Creator. For He created all creation; He is the Lord of the heavens and earth, who humbles and exalts, who diminishes and honors, for there is no other god besides Him in heaven above or on earth below. Chapter 5 The shepherd became proud, and in one moment the Lord filled him from his feet to his head, and in that same moment he died. And Nimrod became proud, who built the tower of brick from the multitude of his strength, but the Lord surrounded him. And Nebuchadnezzar became proud and said, "There is no other king besides me, and I am the one who darkens the sun upon the earth." And from the multitude of his pride he spoke thus; and the Lord cast him out from among men, and the Lord appointed his portion with the beasts and birds of the sky until he would know that the Lord is the one who created him. And when he knew, he again brought him into his kingdom. Who is it that has been proud and boasted over the Lord his Creator, who made the earth? And who is it that has transgressed His law and ordinance, and for whom has the earth not swallowed him up? And you, Zerubbabel, do you wish to be proud and boast over your Creator? And has it not happened to you as to them, that He will punish you for your pride and cast you down into the pit of death?

And again, into Sheol, the proud are cast down to weeping and lamentation, the strong are laid low beneath the earth, into the great and deep pit, to their ruin, cast out forever. O man, and earth, you who have sinned, you will die like those who are like you, the proud kings who have abandoned the possession of this world. But we say, O man, it is not the Lord God, for the Lord God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and your creator, and He it is who humbles the proud and exalts the humble, and He it is who gives strength to the weak, and He it is who gives weakness to the strong, and He it is who gives death to the living, and He it is who raises the dead who sleep in the tomb and have become dust, and He it is who delivers servants into life from the servitude of sin. O King Girusuzyadan, why do you boast in your unclean gods who have no power? The Lord God made the heavens, cultivated the earth, created the great sea, set the sun and moon, established the seasons and years, and man acts within his work, grows and is humbled until he dies, and the stars of the heavens are fixed in their course, and He names them all by their names, and there is none that can be hidden from the knowledge of the Lord God. And the angels of heaven, it is He who sends them to serve and praise His holy name, and He sends them to all the angels concerning those who will inherit life. The angel Raphael was sent to Tobit and saved Tobias in the land of Raguel.

And an angel was sent to Gideon, as it had instructed him, to destroy the Philistines. And an angel was sent from Moses the prophet when he led the Israelites across the Red Sea. For the Lord said, "I alone am their guide, and there is no other god with them." And he brought them up onto the dry land, and he hid them like a wall, and he sheltered them with a cloud from the heat, because he loved them exceedingly. And he made you king over his people and gave you authority over the four kingdoms, so that you might guard the people and see with justice and do the will of the one who created you. And he made you king exceedingly, as you love the Lord your God, for you have nothing else. And he made you king. And you, righteous one, exceedingly love the Lord your God, as you have loved and trusted in all his guidance. And you, do the will of the Lord, so that your days on earth may be peaceful, and he will be with you. And he will be for you over all your enemies, and he will set you upon all your thrones, and he will spread his wing over your head. If you know that the Lord has chosen you, as he chose Saul from among the sons of Israel, and made him king over Israel, his people, while he saw the deeds of his fathers, and he sat upon the throne with Samuel the prophet. And he gave him a portion greater than his brothers, and said to him, "Now from this day, the Lord has made you king over his people; increase his people.

And he saw those who do good with good, and those who do evil with evil, because the Lord has given you power over them to kill and to spare. And for those who do good, you reward them with good; and for those who do evil, you reward them with evil, because the Lord has given you power over all that you have desired, so that you may do his will, whether by punishing or by sparing. And you also, do the will of the Lord at all times and at every hour, so that he may do your will in all that you have chosen and in all that you have asked, while you prostrate yourself before him, for you are his servant. You are the servant of him who rules over all, of him who has a superior, and of him who has none to judge him; but he judges all. Of him who has none to measure him, but he measures all. Of him who has none to limit him, but he limits all. Of him who has none to rule over him, but he rules over all. Of him who has none to make him rich, but he enriches all. And there is none who can escape from his hand, for the judgment of heaven and earth is in his possession. And there is nothing hidden before his eyes, nor is there any secret with him. And he sees all, but there is none who sees him. He hears the prayer of him who prays to him, and he accepts his prayer, for he created man in his image and likeness. And he gives from his treasury to him who is in need, for he is the king who reigns forever.

Chapter 6 And they wrote concerning him, kings, rightly, rightly, because he rules the kings with justice, those who do his will. And he makes their dwellings bright with light that cannot be described, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David, and Solomon, and Ezekiel, and all the good kings are, whose dwellings are bright, because they did the will of the Lord. And behold, as on earth, a throne, but a throne in heaven, fearful, exceedingly, and pure, refined, of gold and silver and precious stones, which surpasses human thought. Its appearance is bright, exceedingly. The throne of heaven is bright, with emerald and marble and crystal and glass, and with every precious stone, which surpasses human thought. The throne is bright, exceedingly, which he made for himself, a throne, as he knows. The throne of heaven is pure, its refinement of gold and silver and precious stones, and emerald, and topaz, and sapphire, and pearl. And likewise, adorned and red, exceedingly, and pure, and bright, and beautiful in justice and righteousness, and mighty in mercy and compassion. And there is a river of the water of life, exceedingly pure, like the sun, and a dew of light, and a crown of colors of Hermon. And in the midst of his house, a tree with fruits of the garden, sweet, whose appearance and fragrance and taste and wine and oil and cup are very good and sweet, the fragrance of its fruit. And when he entered into it, the flesh from the taste of the fragrance of its fruit, the soul departed from the abundance of joy within him.

And they rejoice there, the good kings who did the will of God. Their reward and their honor are known; it is at the place of eternal life, in the kingdom of heaven. And he showed that as it is in heaven, so also on earth, according to the greatness of their kingdom on earth, and as they honor them and bow down to them, so also in heaven they are honored and exalted and rejoice. And if they did good during their lives on earth, but they perverted the judgments in their kingdom and in the authority that God gave them, and they did not judge with justice and righteousness, and they did not save the oppressed, the orphans, and the children of the dead, because they turned away from the voice of the poor and the needy, and they did not rescue the poor and the needy from the hand that oppresses them, and they did not feed the hungry from their food, and they did not give drink to the thirsty from their drink, and they did not wipe away their tears at the cry of the children of the living—then those are taken into the abode of hell, the depths of darkness. And as great as their honor was, so great is their punishment and their judgment when they arrive at that great day that God made, and his wrath. As David said in the psalm: "O Lord, in your wrath do not strike me, and in your punishment do not chastise me." And as for those who keep your law, while kings and princes and rulers of the world are on earth, they are the ones.

And in heaven, he holds all, and all souls are in his hand, and the life of all is in his mouth, he who gives honor to those who honor him and feeds those who love him, for he rules all and judges all, and he examines the heart and the kidneys, for he is the king of heaven and earth, who grants the prayer of him who prays to him with a pure heart, and he humbles the pride of the arrogant, who mock the poor and the orphans of the dead. It is not by your strength that you have risen to this kingdom, nor by your skill that you have sat upon this throne, but rather he himself, by his will, placed you upon the throne of the kingdom. He will test you, whether you can judge his people as Saul did in that time, who judged his people and disobeyed the word of God and the word of Samuel the prophet, and did not kill the king of Amalek and his people. For God said to Samuel the prophet, "Go, tell Saul, 'Go and destroy the land of Amalek, and kill all their kings and their inhabitants, from humans to animals, for they have angered me by lawlessness, by worshiping gods, by bowing to idols, by their sorceries, and by every evil deed without limit.'" And because of this, when they angered God, he sent to have them killed. But he spared their king and many animals, women, maidens, and the best of the booty for the wicked. And because of this, God said to Samuel the prophet, "Since he has transgressed my word and not heeded my command, go, tear apart his kingdom.

And he chose David, son of Jesse, to reign over Israel. And moreover, he showed him favor, for he gave him the kingdom to do my will. And when he disobeyed me, he did my will, I cast him out from the pure. And you, go, speak, and tell him thus: You shall serve the Lord who made you king over his people Israel and set you upon the throne of his kingdom. And you, do you not know what this is? He gave you great honor and glory. And Samuel the prophet went to King Saul, and he found him standing in the midst of the table, and Agag, king of Amalek, was in his presence. And he said to him, "Why do you transgress? You have transgressed against the Lord who commanded you to kill men and beasts." And then the king feared and rose from his throne, and he seized the garment of Samuel, and Samuel tore it, and Samuel's garment was torn. And Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord has torn your kingdom." And again Saul said to Samuel, "Praise me before the people, and make me stand before the Lord, that he may honor me." And Samuel refused his word, for he feared the word of the Lord, his creator, and he did not fear a mortal king. And because of this, he slew Agag, king of Amalek, while he had food in his mouth. And he is evil, who transgressed the word of the Lord; an evil spirit seized him, and he destroyed himself, for the Lord did not spare the king who committed iniquity, for he is the king of kings who rules all.

And he has no one who can command him, for he is the Lord who overturns all the authority of kings and judges who do not fear him. And from Saul he took away the kingdom from him and from his son, as he said. The house of David, when it rises, goes forth; and the house of Saul, when it falls, goes forth. And the Lord uprooted the seed of the house of Saul because of what he did to anger him, and he did not destroy his servants who angered him with the evil of their deeds, for the one who cannot be avenged is the enemy of the Lord; for each one, his enemy is the enemy of the Lord. And the one who cannot be punished for sin while he is able to be punished, and he has authority himself, he himself is truly the enemy of the Lord, who cannot be bound by the law of the Lord, which has no [end]. Chapter 7 And if you are a king, and if you are a judge, what are you? Are you not the Lord who created you? And he brought you from where you were not, that you might do his will and walk in his command and fear his punishment, just as you command your servants and have power over them. Likewise for you, there is one who commands you and has power over you. Just as you dispense punishment without mercy to those who commit sin, likewise for you, there is the Lord who punishes you and casts you into punishment from which there is no escape forever. And just as you condemn the one who does not submit to you and does not bring tribute to you, why do you not bring tribute to the Lord?

And as you desire, they fear you; why do you not fear the Lord your God, for He is the one who created you and made you king over all His creation, as you see His people and His flock in righteousness? And do not turn your face from the great and the small, but judge with righteousness and equity, as the Lord commanded you. Whom do you fear besides Him? Guard His ways and His commandments, and I will be guided by the right and by grace, as Moses commanded the children of Israel and said to them: "I have brought fire and water before you, to your hand, wherever you wished." And hear the word of the one who speaks to you, that you may hear His word and do His commandment. And as you say, "Is there a bridge over the river? Who will bring it to me, that I may see and hear His word and do the commandment of the Lord?" And if you say again, "Who will ascend for me into heaven and bring down that word for me, that I may hear and do it?" And He said, "Behold, the word is near you, in your mouth, and behold, it is in your hand." And if you do not hear the scripture, you do not hear the Lord your God. And if you do not accept my word, He will not love you, and I will make you do His commandment. And you will be in eternal punishment, as He does not love you, and you did not do the will of the one who magnified you and honored you above all your people, that you might rule them with your righteousness, and He appointed you as ruler and head over all His people, while you remember the name of the Lord your God who created you and gave you to judge the people with righteousness and equity.

And from those who have wronged you, by your rule and by your teaching, while you remember the way of the Lord, and while you renew your mind and judge with righteousness. And when they stand before you, and you do not turn your face, and you do not raise your eyes from a man as if you were teaching him, and to a pure man as if you were instructing him, for yours is the earth, all of it. And if you do his will, he will prolong your days. Remember that you will rise from the dead and stand before his face, and you will confess all that you have done, both evil and good. And if you have done good, dwell in the abode of good kings, in the houses of light. And if you have done evil, dwell in the abode of evil kings, and do not be ashamed. The Lord has commanded your honor. And you, when you see the greatness of your majesty, and the multitude of your armies, and the abundance of your fields, and your horses and the multitude under your hand, and those who blow the horn and march with the trumpet before you—and you, when you see all this, you exalt your mind and stiffen your neck, and you do not remember the one who gave you all this honor. It is not so when he says to you, "Leave," and you leave. And Judah gives your honor to a stranger, for you have been stripped of your covering over the food that fed you. And in this life, he will seek you out, and he will consider you, and he will judge you, for death will come to you, and at the resurrection there will be judgment, and the deeds of men will be confessed.

And for the kings of the earth, there is none who honors them; and for the governors of the earth, the crown of their counsel falls, for the wicked and the persecutor stand together in judgment and justice, for the righteous judge is he who is established in judgment, and the soul trembles, and the books are opened, and the deeds of men are revealed, and there is none who is hidden at the resurrection of the dead, for the earth brings forth her womb that was sealed over her, like a woman who has conceived the fruit of the womb, from when she has reached childbirth and has been in labor for the one who is within her belly. And the waters of the clouds, do they not pour down the abundance of rain, as they are sent to where the Lord has commanded them, as they do not descend otherwise, and cannot be otherwise, as the dead are not raised until their time for resurrection has come? For the word of the Lord brings forth everything from nothing, and the word of the Lord brings everything into being; and again, the word of the Lord brings forth everything from nothing, as Moses said: "It is not by bread that men live, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." Now it is known that by the word of the Lord the dead live. And again, it is said in the Second Law concerning those who are kings and governors, and those who do the will of the wicked in judgment, I will demand of them; and when their feet stumble, for the day of their number has come. And again, the Lord said to those who do not know His judgment: "Know, know that when I, the Lord, am the one who kills and brings to life.

I will punish and I will forgive, I will bring down into Sheol and I will raise up into heaven, and there is none who can take from my hand. Thus says the Lord concerning the kings and governors who have despised his commandment: Keep my law and my ordinance so that you may dwell in my kingdom forever, for the kingdom of the earth is transitory, and it passes from morning until evening. For the zeal of the Lord is for glory and for shame: this one he shames and that one he glorifies. For the one who does his will, he honors; and for the one who does his will, he shames. Chapter 8 And concerning the resurrection of the dead, listen, I will tell you: They plant trees and they produce grapes and shoots and wine, and they produce from it. For from nothing the Lord brings forth fruit. See, the seed is the tree that you planted, and it comes forth with grapes and leaves and fruit. And the Lord gives moisture to its roots from the moisture of water and from the earth. And to the one who is thirsty, he gives them drink from the wind and from the sun. The root gives water to the leaf, and the earth gives strength to the trees. And the spirit of the Lord gives fruit in their midst. Likewise is the resurrection of the dead. And he said: From the winds he gathered the souls, from water and from earth, and from the sun and from the wind. For that which is his went from the flesh as it came. Earth was in its place and became dust; and water was in its place and became dew; and wind was in its place and became wind; and fire was in its place.

And it happened that the sun set, and the spirit of the Lord gathered them into the hand of their Creator, and he places them where he wills, for as he gathers them when he wills, and he confines them in houses of light for the souls of the righteous, but for the souls of sinners, he confines them in houses of darkness until the time he wills to bring them out. And he said to Ezekiel the prophet, "Call the four souls so that they may be gathered and become one spirit." And when he spoke thus, with one word they were gathered from the four winds. And he brought water, dew, and cold; and he brought the heat of the sun; and he brought the dust of the earth; and the wind also brought breath. And the Lord also brought the soul from his abode, from his place, and with one word they were gathered, and resurrection occurred. And again, I have shown you what exists as an example for you: it will be evening, and you will sleep, and it will be morning, and you will rise. As for you, when you sleep, you are dead; and when you wake, it is like resurrection. And night is like this world, all its darkness, and the whole world sleeps in it, for the darkness of night covers them. And the light of morning is like the resurrection of the dead, for when it comes, darkness is dispelled, and light appears in the whole world, and people rise and go about their work. And likewise, this new world and the resurrection of the dead, for this world is transitory like this night. And when the sun comes and shines, it is like that world, as David said, "And in the sun there is no shadow.

And when he comes into the new world, as now the sun gives light when it comes, so the Lord himself gives light over her in the new world. For the sun has said, "There is no setting, and no destruction of the multitudes." The Lord himself is their light. And again, he raises the dead like the twinkling of an eye. And again, I will bring to you one likeness from your planting, which you sow and which lives there. Whether it be a grain of wheat, or a grain of barley, or a grain of spelt, and every work of man that is sown in all the earth—if there were no death, there would be none that lives. And when it dies, its body is consumed in the earth with its chaff, like the body of a man that you see. And when its body is consumed in the earth, it sprouts to the measure of what you have seen. And if there were no death, there would be no planting of life. And when it sprouts, it produces abundant seed. And from the Lord, fruit is given within that seed which is mature, and it clothes the body with flesh, marrow, skin, and hair, and nails, and horns—nothing is lacking for you. But see how abundant is the planting of what you have sown. Do not be a destroyer, and see your seed, how abundant it is. Likewise, the resurrection of the dead is like this, and how they are rewarded according to their deeds. And again, hear me, for as seed is not exchanged for another seed—if you have sown wheat, will it produce barley? And if you have sown cumin, will it produce leeks? And from the trees also: if you have planted a fig, will it produce a vine? And if you have planted a vine, will it produce for you a fig?

And if a bitter tree is planted, will it produce sweet fruit? And if a bitter tree is planted, will it produce sweet fruit? Likewise, if a sinner dies, will he produce the deeds of a righteous person at the resurrection? And if a righteous person dies, will he produce the deeds of a sinner at the resurrection? No, each one is rewarded according to his deeds, and according to the fruit of his work, and according to the work of his hands he is rewarded. And there is no one who is judged for the sin of another. The cedar of Lebanon is planted and produces large and great branches. And if dew falls upon it from the heights of Armon, it does not wither its leaves, but it becomes green and flourishes. And the thornbush marvels at the root, if the winter rain falls upon it. And likewise, if the rain of life from the Lord falls upon them, the dead are raised. Chapter 9 The plains of Gilabuhi and the mountains of Lebanon, when the rain of mercy from the Lord falls upon them, produce grass for domestic animals and wild beasts. And the mountains of Gilead and the plains of Lemn give forth fodder for goats and for camels that are seen, and for wild animals and for oxen and for strong ones. And likewise, the high ones and the heretics who previously chose pride and error, if the dew of mercy from the Lord falls upon them, the dead and the wounded and the sick, the lepers and the lame, the quarrelsome, and those who dwell in prison and in chains and the murderers.

And those who fast without law, and the Athenians and Medes, who believe in their idols and worship them, and honor them with drum and harp and lyre, and serve with their idols, and fast with the works of their hands, those who do not save themselves, they will be judged on the day of judgment at the resurrection. Is it not a wonder and a marvel to you that the dead will not rise? For they are lost, as if they sleep there when the trumpet is blown at the resurrection of the dead by the mouth of Michael, the chief of angels. Mountains and hills will be leveled, rivers and depths will dry up and become smooth plains. And there will be a resurrection for all that have flesh. Chapter 10 And if it were not so, why did the ancient fathers, from Adam and Abel and Seth and Noah and Shem and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Aaron, those who did not wish to be buried except in the tomb of their fathers? Will they not rise together with their relatives at the resurrection, and will their bones not be separated from the bones of the wicked and the sinners and the pagans? And your mind is troubled, saying, "In what way will the dead rise after their death, those who are buried each in their own tomb, and their bones have decayed?" And when you look into the tomb, a handful of dust is not found. And in what way will the bones of the dead rise? You say this in the pride of my heart. "The seed I have sown, will it not sprout?" you say. It will sprout for you, what you have sown.

And likewise, the Lord who sows souls will raise them quickly, and He does not delay their resurrection by His living word, for He brought man from where he was not into where he is, who is faithful. And again, from where he is, He brought him into death, and again from death, He brought him into where he is. The Lord can revive him and raise him. Chapter 11 Armon and its suburbs, and Dika, and those who worship idols in Zablon and Edomias, will be destroyed then, for the Lord has commanded according to their wickedness and according to the work of their hands. Tyre and Sidon will weep, for the time has come when they will be avenged for their wickedness and the idols they made with their hands, and they did not cease until their heads. And because of this, the Lord will avenge them for what they did: shameful and abominable acts, and adultery, and idolatry. And the children of Judah will be saved, for they stood by the commandment of the Lord, their Creator. Likewise, at the resurrection of the dead, the salvation of Jerusalem will be revealed, for she walked according to His law and His judgment of the Lord, and she walked in righteousness and in the death of the righteous. This is what the Lord will consider in the wisdom of His plan, and He will avenge her for all the evil she did in the days of her youth and did not cease in the days of her old age until her head. And she fell into the grave and became dust like the former fathers who walked in their pride and rejected the commandment of the Lord, as the resurrection will avenge them.

For Moses said concerning them: "As the vine of Sodom and the vine of Gomorrah, and their grapes are from Gomorrah, and their clusters are clusters of bitterness, and their wine is bitter venom, the serpent of the earth, and their wine is venom that kills." Chapter 12 This is your destruction, O Daughter of Jerusalem, which was written by the prophet: for as the deeds and sins of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, so are your deeds and sins, O Daughter of Jerusalem. And as Sodom and Gomorrah, so your destruction is planted as a vine of their wine in fornication and pride. And there is no rain upon them of the rain of humility and mercy, without the rain of pride and fornication, which dries up the vine of their wine without iniquity, oppression, patience, and endurance, and they do not know the name of the Lord their God, and they do not know their Creator apart from their idols, and their deeds are evil, and they are consumed by the works of their hands, and they practice bestiality with animals and beasts. And they do not know the Lord by their deeds, for their eyes are blind as if they do not see, and their ears are deaf as if they do not hear, and they do not do the will of the Lord. And what dries up the vine of Sodom are the grapes of Gomorrah, those who do not distinguish the cluster of sweetness. And when they press their wine, it becomes venom that kills, for from its creation it was planted in bitterness and its sweetness became in the time of destruction.

And at all times there is no good in their vine, for it is planted in the dew of Sheol; the root of their vine is scorched by the hot wind, and its branches are withered. And when it ripens and is gathered, it becomes for ruin and for destruction; and those who drink it, it brings madness upon their hearts, and it makes them worthy of the curse and the wrath of the Lord. And it is a dwelling place for the devil, for by its evil deeds they walk. And the vine of Sodom takes hold, devours, and ascends into the mountains and into the forests, and it strangles the owner of the place where they worship, and it sacrifices children and its offspring to the demons who do not know good from evil. And they shed pure blood, and into the skulls they pour from the vessels of the root of the vine of Sodom. And of Gomorrah, which is called "the vine of the locust," she worships and honors and sacrifices to it from her produce and from her possessions, as she rejoices in their abundance and in their greatness, which the demons have taught her, so that she may sacrifice to them and do their will. And as she does not know her Creator, her Lord, at all times, who nourishes and sustains her from infancy until the time of her weaning, and again until the time of her growth, and until the day of her death; and again, she will be sought at the time of resurrection, and her time will be until eternity, for she did not repent according to my law, and she did not walk according to my commandments. Her gods will raise you up, if they are gods of truth; they will cast her likeness into Gehenna, and they will save her when I am angry with her and I have sent all her teachers who strive with her.

And I have chosen you, a deficiency in everything, as you have done, a shadow and a grasshopper, over my house and my holy ones. And you have brought my name, which is named, over you, while they call you this: the people of the Lord and the house of the Lord of Israel and the dwelling place of His name, the Most High, in holy Jerusalem, the city of the great king. And you boast within yourself that you are my year, and I am the Lord, and you are not one who fears me, and you do my will as the Lord, or do you not contend with me as a wicked one? And you bow down to foreign gods, which I do not name and do not make and do not plant, or have they become a support for the planting of the vine, as if to make it distant from me? And you sacrifice to them, and you eat their sacrifices, and you pour out for them, and you drink their wine of outpouring, and you burn for them, and you kindle the fragrance of their incense, and they command you, and you are commanded by them. And again you sacrifice your children and your offspring, and you cut yourselves with the work of your hands and with the sharpness of your nails, because you go forth for them on account of their love. Woe to you on the day of judgment, and to your gods whom you love and embrace, and with them you descend into Sheol, beneath the lowest, where his tree is bitter; it is that which does not perish. I say to you, O daughter of Jerusalem, a deficiency, because you have abandoned me who created you, and you have worshipped foreign gods. And I, according to your deeds, I will judge you and I will trust you according to your shame, because I have been angered by you, and you have made the calf to live, and you have not adorned your deeds.

And I, I have delayed for you, and I have not hastened your salvation, because you did not listen to my word and you did not act according to my counsel, which you had hidden with me, as you would keep my commandment. And I, I am with you and I will save you from all those who oppress you, and you, as you keep my commandment which I commanded you, and my ordinance. And all this you have kept, and I have delayed for you. And if I were to judge you, would I not be the one who created you? And you have not kept my word and my commandment, and I blessed you that you might be for me. But you have separated yourself from me, as Sodom and Gomorrah separated themselves. And I, I destroyed them with my wrath, because from their foundation you are for Sodom and Gomorrah, those whom I destroyed and I caused their memory to be erased from the earth, as if they had never existed in their generation, because they angered me, who created them, by the union of a woman with a man, and by their lying with a male without law, and with beasts as with women. And there is no fear of God before their eyes, from their youth to their old age. And there is no one who restrains another, as if he were to do to him the deeds of those who help them in all evil deeds and in the perversity of all iniquity and transgression, because their deeds are evil. And all evil deeds, pride, arrogance, and deceit are established in their minds. And because of this, God destroyed them and overturned their cities, and there were those who burned them with fire to their foundations, and not one remained from within them, those who were destroyed and annihilated forever.

And he will be delayed until the day of judgment, until the world and the day of doom, his sin, because he was bound in sin, and he will not be taught, and he will not be corrected, because they embittered me with their evil deeds. And I, I have delayed them, and like that, you also, daughter of Jerusalem, you will be bound in the day of judgment, because you will be found to have despised me when I seized you in my wrath, because all your deeds are deceit and falsehood and error and adultery and lying speech and every path of errors and a door that does not open for me. And I appointed you for honor, and you appointed yourself for shame. Indeed, I said to you, "Come to me," and you appointed yourself for a stranger. And I set you apart for holiness, and you became for the devil. And I will avenge myself upon you according to the evil of your deeds. And I will bring evil vengeance upon you because of all that you did not hear my word and you did not keep my commandment which I commanded you when I loved you. Because I am the Lord who created you, and I will be merciful to all sinners who are like you, and I will judge them according to their evil on the day of judgment. And for you, I will punish you with them because you did not keep my word and you delayed my judgment. O Sodom and Gomorrah, who had no fear of the Lord in your hearts! Likewise, and as for you, Jerusalem, you will be judged together with me in the depths of Gehenna, and all those who did deeds like yours, because together you will descend to the prepared Gehenna, to a place from which there is no exit, forever and ever.

And you also, you who have rejected my word and my command, and those who will descend together into Sheol on the day of judgment, because you rejected my word and my command. And those who have kept my word and my command, the righteous will eat what the sinners have stored, and the wicked will share what the good have prepared, as the Lord commanded. The righteous and the good will rejoice and be glad, and the sinners and the wicked will weep and mourn because of all their errors, which are far from my command. And whoever keeps my word and walks according to my command, he is the one who will eat the blessing and be honored before me. And all who keep my word and fulfill my command will eat the blessing of the land, and will enter and dwell among the good and righteous kings. Chapter 13 Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of the land of Judah, those who exalt themselves, now woe to them when I seize them in my wrath, for they will be destroyed and punished. Thus says the Lord, because from among them will come forth a proud and arrogant son of a slave, an enemy of righteousness, who will shed blood and boast, and he will not know his Creator, for I have set him as a sign of my wrath, to show my power over him. Thus says the Lord who rules over all. This is their punishment: Samaria, Galilee, Syria, Damascus, Cyprus, and Achaia, and all the region of the Jordan, great nations of the neck, who walk in their pride, whom darkness and the shadow of death have covered.

And they shall not be afraid of the fear of the Lord, those whose hearts have covered Seblanyos, and they do not obey that proud one. Woe to them, and also to those who obey the unclean ones and offer sacrifices in their names, because they have exalted themselves against the Lord who created them. And they shall be likened to an animal without a heart, because he who sets up his likeness is wicked, a son of sin, in every place. And he rejoices in the work of his hands, in the desire of his soul, and in all deceit and transgression and corruption and falsehood, and everything that he does: fornication, transgression, and falsehood. For in his times, the wise one does as this, because from the Lord, he is separated, as he does this. The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall become blood, and the stars shall fall from the sky, and every work shall be changed by a sign that will come in the last times, as it will judge the earth and everything within it according to the works of the hands of those who dwell within it. And for the last, the enemy will bring death, because he has become proud over the creation of the Lord and has done as he wished for one hour. And after him, there is no repentance, because I will take vengeance, says the Lord who rules over all. And he himself will descend into punishment, and judgment is firm for him. If he is seized on the day of my wrath, because he will drag all those who are with him into sin and into punishment and destruction, because I am the one who brings out and casts into the judgment of Gehenna.

And the mighty one shall not be trusted in his might, for it is he who gives strength and firmness to the weak, and the liar gives sickness to the strong and mighty. And he shall be repaid with the fruit of transgressions and the wages of death, for he is the taker and the avenger for those who are struck down by the hands of their strikers. Woe to you, O one who trusts and leans your neck, and it seems to you that which has not taken you and has not avenged you in my wrath, as he said: "Why, O truth, is the morning star from heaven that shines at dawn?" For he said in his pride and his trust: "I shall set my throne above the heavens and the stars, and I shall be like the Most High." This you have defiled in your pride, and you have not remembered your Lord who created you and made you with his own hands. Why, O truth, have you exalted yourself, you who are to descend beneath the lower region in the thickness of your heart? And in your pride you have been humbled beneath all the angels who are like you, for they praise him in humility of spirit, their Creator, and they do not rebel from his command, for they know that it is he who made them and created them, and they have kept their minds so that they do not perish and do not deviate from his command. But you have acted in the pride of your heart, O evil one, and you have become more foolish than your fellows, for you are the accomplice of all iniquity, transgression, darkness, and oppression, which the sinners who are like you and the wicked who were from your creation commit, and they go astray like you, and they walk in all your will and command, which you teach them, transgression. Woe to you and to those whom you have led astray; in deception you shall descend together into corruption.

And the children of God, if you have lied, it is He who is the deceiver; but if you have not lied, you will descend together into punishment forever, because you have lied as you have, and He and his demons. And before, when Moses, the servant of God, was present, I made you cross over by the storm and to the water of the sea, and to Mount Sinai, and to Amalek. And again, when I sent the seventy eyes into the land of inheritance, and when He says to you, "His path is distant and the measure of their strength is harsh, which reaches to the sky, and their plants are tender, and those who would increase them are few and dwell," and when they say this to you, "He has deceived you and given you the word of God, as you entered the land of Egypt into your reed, a wonder." And you did not remember the Lord who saved you from your affliction, who performed great deeds in Egypt and led you by the hand of His angel, so that the sun might not burn you, a cloud shaded you by day, and so that your foot might not be caught in darkness, He gave you light by night in a pillar of fire. And when Pharaoh and his armies terrified you, they cried out to you and you cried out to Moses, and Moses cried out and cried out to the Lord, and by His angel He struck you so that you would not be joined with the armies of Pharaoh. And Moses made them enter into suffering, because the Lord said, "He alone led them, and there is no foreign god with them, and as for their enemies, He drowned them in the sea by the staff." And no breath of air remained among them.

And for Israel, I passed on foot through the midst of the sea, and there was nothing that harmed them from the Egyptians, and I brought them to Mount Sinai, and there I gave them manna for 40 years, and they performed the worship of the Lord according to the good deeds He did for them, because they continually pleased the Lord, as it is written in the Book of the Birth of the Fathers. And He said, "The heart of the children of the wicked is hardened, and all their deeds are in oppression and evil; they strive, and there is none among them who desires righteousness without the gathering of wealth by violence and false oath, and they commit theft, robbery, and oppression." And to this evil they strive all the days of their lives. And the children of Israel, the laity, continually pleased the Lord, obeying the commandments of the Lord from beginning to end. Chapter 14 And when the Lord punished the first people with the water of the flood because of the harm they did to the children of Cain, He cleansed the earth with the water of the flood and purified it from all the filth of the children of Cain. And He destroyed all the oppressors, for He said, "I have repented of what I did to the children of the wicked," and He destroyed everything, and nothing remained without destruction. And after that, He multiplied them and filled the earth, and they divided the inheritance of their father Adam.

And Noah was zealous for the covenant of the Lord, like Uyamasna for the land of Dagma, in the water of the eye, and the children of Noah, like Uyibl'u, death and destruction, and like they worshipped foreign gods without the Lord, their Creator, He Himself, that He might be their God, and that they might destroy them in vain with water, and that He might not withhold from them the rain of spring and winter, and that He might give them produce according to the seasons for man and beast, fruits, grass, and plants, and that they might bow their necks in all that the Lord loves. And after this ordinance, the children of Israel gave thanks to the Lord in their wickedness, and they did not walk as their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who transgressed the command of the Lord, their Creator. And those children of Israel were wicked in their deeds from their youth to their old age, who kept the command of the Lord. But their Levites, angels, and all their scribes transgressed the command of the Lord, and they did not stand by His law and His ordinance which Moses commanded them in the book of the law, saying: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself, and do not worship foreign gods, and do not commit adultery, and do not kill a soul, and do not steal, and do not bear false witness, and do not covet the property of your neighbor, and all that is forbidden to you, whether ox or cattle.

And when the children of Israel were zealous, they would fight against oppression and darkness, and against iniquity and tyranny, and against the taking of a man’s wife, and against theft, and against falsehood, and against the worship of foreign gods. And at Korebhi, the children of Israel made the Lord angry by making a calf that grazes on grass, and they bowed down and said, “Behold, these are our gods who brought us out of the land of Egypt.” And they rejoiced in the work of their hands, and they ate and drank and became drunk, and they rose up to dance. And because of this, Moses became angry and came down from Mount Sinai, for they said, “The Lord has wronged and erred, your people whom you brought out from behind Egypt, from the house of bondage, and they have made a calf and bowed down to an idol.” And Moses came down with Joshua, his servant, while he was angry with his people. And when Joshua heard, he said, “Let me hear the sound of the sword among the children of Israel.” And Moses said to Joshua, “Is the sound of the sword not the sound of the joy of wine?” And he came down and struck them and buried them in the pit, until it became like a sword, and he threw them into the well from which the children of Israel drink, in the hollow of the mountain. And then he commanded the Levites to fight among themselves because of the evil they had done before the Lord. And they did as he commanded them, making them understand that the anger of the Lord is greater than the killing of their own heads and the killing of their relatives and their fathers.

And concerning this, Moses said to them, "We have breathed out for the Lord who created you and marked you and brought you out from the house of bondage and made you inherit the inheritance of the covenant for your fathers, as it was given to them and to their seed after them." And in this they abandoned the ordinance of the Lord, for they were in all evil and oppression, and they were not like their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who served the Lord with the beauty of their bodies from their youth until the time of their old age. And He gave them, as it was given to them, both on earth and in heaven, what He prepared for those who love Him. In this, the land of inheritance that yields milk and honey, and in this, the garden of joy that is prepared for the righteous, which the eye has not seen nor the ear heard within the heart of man, which has not been changed, which the Lord prepared for those who love Him—for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who served the Lord in their lives. And their descendants, these deniers and evil ones, who walk according to the desire of their hearts and do not hear the word of the Lord who created them and marked them and confined them from their youth, and they do not remember the Lord who brought them out from the land of Egypt and saved them from the work of the kiln and from the work of bitter bondage. And these, each one, have made Him angry, and He raises up against them those who have wronged them as enemies, and they rise up against them and do to them according to His will.

Chapter 15 And this one, having said, rose up against them, the men of Midian, and raised their armies to smite Israel. And the name of their king was Akrandes. And he assembled in the morning a great army of Syria and Cilicia and Damascus. And he encamped at the ford of the Jordan. And he sent messengers to Israel, saying, "Give me a morning-gift of a denarius. And if I come, I will destroy you and take your property and seize all your possessions and drive out your children and banish you to a land you do not know. And there I will make you hewers of wood and drawers of water. And you shall not boast, saying, 'We are the people of the Lord.' And is it not the Lord who sent me to destroy you and take your property and everything that is yours, as he sent me to assemble? Are there not those whom their gods saved, the foreign peoples whom I judged and took their property and possessions and killed them and exiled their sons and children? Likewise for you, I will do to you if you give me the morning-gift as I commanded you." And he crossed the Jordan to take their property and their livestock and to drive out their women. And then the children of Israel wept to the Lord with bitter tears and cried out and lamented and sought who would help them. And because of this, the Lord gave them strength for three brothers, and their names were thus: Maccabaeus, Meqabyos, and Judas, who were good of heart and strong in all their might.

When they heard, the children of Israel wept and lamented, and their hearts melted from the deeds of all the children of Israel, the virgins and the widows, and their priests and their judges, and all the kindred of Israel, men and women and children, all of them wept and poured ashes upon their heads and put on sackcloth, their nobles. And those good and merciful brothers took pity, that they might go and that they might save them, and they took counsel and said, “Let us go and give our souls to death for the sake of these.” And they went, following them, while in their belts their swords and their spears were in their hands, and they went, hiding themselves, that they might be seen by the onlooker. And they arrived while he was in the camp, and Maccabeus struck the onlooker and cut off his neck with one blow, while food was in his mouth. And Judas Maccabeus struck with the sword those who were on the right and on the left of their king. And when their king fell, they all fled and scattered, and fear entered the heart of their army, and their ranks were shattered, and their shields were broken. And those good and merciful brothers were saved, and no one found them, nor any evil. And those evil ones were shattered among themselves, because the Lord brought a punishment upon them. And they fell and died, and all that was theirs they cast away until they crossed the Jordan, and all that was theirs remained. And when the children of Israel saw that they had fled and gone with their wonders, their courage was kindled, and they lifted up their heads.

And thus the Lord saved the children of Israel by the hand of Maccabeus and his brothers. And they remained for a short time while the children of Israel praised the Lord. And after that, they again returned to their wickedness, and the children of Israel denied the faith of the Lord in purity. And again he delivered them into the hands of the peoples who were plowing, who were cultivating the fields of their enemies, and who were planting their vineyards, and who were lifting up their pastures, and who were watering their flocks before them, and they were unable to save them, because these peoples were transgressors of the law, for they always provoked the Lord at all times. Chapter 16 The peoples of Tyre and Sidon, and those who dwell by the seashore and the fords of the river Jordan, and Gilead, and Karan, and the Canaanites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, and Edom, and the people of Amalek. And all the nations in their cities, and in their tribes, and in their customs, and in their ordinances, and in the fortifications of their lands. And all of them live according to the order established for them by the Lord. And among them are those whose deeds are good and who know the Lord. And among them are those whose deeds are evil and who do not know the Lord who created them and established them, as they did by the hand of Amenoser, king of Syria. For he raises the army of Damascus and contends for the territory of Samaria before the king of Egypt. The mountains of Gilead and the plains of Gilabue, and all Samaria and Patos of the land of Judah, and those who dwell in the mountains of Arabia and Media, and Portus, and Siusigya, and Cappadocia.

And thus they dwell in their villages, a people of great shame, and those who do not know the Lord and do not keep his commandments, he also punishes them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands. For Caesar and the people of Galatia and Amalek gather together as if to attack the city of the Lord. You are full of righteousness, within which the holy one of Israel is praised. The God of Israel, the charioteer above the chariot of the cherubim, dwells, and thousands upon thousands stand before him, and thousands of thousands serve him with fear and trembling. Chapter 17 And the Edomites and Amalekites were troubled, for they do not rule over the Lord, who is the judge of heaven and earth, in his hand like his temple. For the peoples are wicked; they are those who do not walk in righteousness. And there is no fear of the Lord before their eyes, without fornication and the shedding of blood, and the eating of sacrifices, and tears, and death, and everything that resembles this, the wicked and the violent. They have no faith and no salt, for they are enemies of good, and they do not know the Lord. And on the path of peace, without sin and transgression, and every unclean and abominable deed, and of fornication and adultery, as their father Sabellianus taught them. For he consecrated them with his demons and teaches them every evil deed of his, and transgression, and adultery, and the pursuit of wealth, and robbery, and theft, and the eating of death, and tears, and fornication.

And all who resemble this: one who commits adultery with a woman, a man, and a murderer of blood, and one who eats a corpse, and one who sacrifices to an idol, and one who kills a human soul in oppression and conflict and strife and drunkenness, and every evil deed which the Lord does not permit—this teaching brings upon them. This is Zeromuseblanyos, who leads them away from the path of the Lord, the holder of the whole world. But humility before the Lord, and giving, and love of neighbor, and reconciliation, and brotherly affection, and peace with all people—these are not to be deceivers of the faces of people, nor hypocrites, nor oppressors, nor mockers, nor betrayers of a woman to a man, nor doers of evil and violence against their neighbors, nor those who stir up strife in oppression, who oppress their neighbors, and quarrel, and destroy themselves, and devote themselves to evil, and pursue falsehood in order to bring people down into the punishment of eternal judgment. Chapter 18 Remember that when the Lord is present, everything is in his hand, and you will stand by the deed you have done, as you will be judged before him. For thus also the children of the shepherd, evil and wicked, and there is none among them who is great or powerful, and their standing and the greatness of their lineage, they did not acknowledge the Lord before them, and they did not know that he is their creator who brought them from where they were not. And their fathers, while they were angels, they themselves would boast with the angels in the heavens; but when their desire led them astray, they descended into the punishment of eternal judgment.

And they took women from the children of the sons of men, because God created for them flesh from the sons of men, so that they might be amazed at them on account of the pride of their hearts, and so that they might teach them not to transgress his commandment and his law. But these transgressed the commandment, and he cast them into the punishment of the fire of fire with the devil, their father, and on account of them, the days of men were shortened, because God was angry with the angels who sinned like men, and he made the children of the sons of men equal to them, and he cast them into Sheol with their punishment. Before this, the days of men were while they entered into ( ) and two years, because the days of men were shortened on account of the sin of the angels with the sons of Cain. And God said, "My spirit will not dwell among them, because they are of flesh and blood." And on account of this, our days were shortened. And again, there are those who die while they are children, because our days were shortened from those of our ancient fathers on account of our sin and transgression. And for our fathers, Noah, their days were because they kept his commandment and did not anger God, and they taught their sons to teach them, and they taught their males so that they would not transgress the commandment of God. And on account of this, Noah, their days were in righteousness, because they did not transgress the commandment of God with their children and their sons.

Chapter 19 And when the children of Cain had done much, and honored, and adorned, and commanded, and all the rest of the lawlessness, and again, beautiful and pleasing daughters were born to Cain from the wife of Abel the Righteous, whom he killed on account of her, for she was pleasing; and after he killed his brother, he took her, and she conceived from him. And he was angry with his father, and he took them to the plain of Qefaz, in the direction of Arabia. And the children of that pleasing woman, who were born, became like Ammon. And because of this, angels descended to the children of Cain and stood for one hour, and they took women for themselves whom they chose. And because of this, the Lord God was merciful to us and to them, for they interceded for us together in the prayer with them on account of their error. And the devil also deceived our father Adam and our mother Eve into his error, while he tempted them and said to them, "You will be gods like the Lord, your Creator." And they, in their pride, believed him and transgressed the commandment of their Creator, who had commanded them from nothing into existence, that they should worship and praise his holy name. And as for those who appropriated the gift of the Lord God for themselves, they themselves are their own lords; he has shut them out, and that one is proud. As David said, "In his pride, the sinner falls into poverty," for by the pride of the devil, Adam was condemned with a just judgment before the Lord God, his God.

And likewise, the angels who erred went to the children of Cain and were led astray into their error. And because of this, the time of our days has been shortened from the time of our fathers, which the Lord gave us. But those [the righteous] did good, and there is no evil that approaches them, for they strengthened their hearts toward the Lord. And they teach their children and their daughters like the wicked Gehaz from the commandment of the Lord, which they taught them. And as for them, if they did and instructed their children, and taught them, there is none who can surpass them, as David said: "And they did not hide from the children of the other generation." And they proclaimed the glory of the Lord, his power and his wonders, which he did, just as they themselves had learned. As they teach their children, so they increase and do and confirm for them the judgment of the Lord. And as they keep his commandment, as their fathers who praised the Lord by the beauty of their deeds, and did not abandon his commandment, which their fathers confirmed for them when they were young—the fear of the Lord and his judgment, just as they themselves learned from their fathers. And their children also learned from their fathers how to strengthen their bodies and to live in praise of their Creator, for they kept his commandment and loved him. And he also hears their prayer and does not delay for their sake, for he is merciful. By abundant mercy, his wrath is appeased, and he does not kindle all his punishment.

Chapter 20 Remember, our brothers, and do not forget what we told you before: how the Lord preserves the righteousness of those who do good, and their fruit multiplies upon the earth, and their memory endures forever for the good; and their seed does not perish, but yields harvest upon the earth. And He saves them from the hand of all their pursuers and enemies who oppress them, for He fights for them and does not abandon them into the hand of their enemies. And He becomes their helper in their distress, for those who love His name, and He forgives them and removes all their sins. Chapter 21 David trusted in the Lord, and He became his shield, for he trusted in Him, and He saved him from the hand of Saul the king. And when Absalom his son [rebelled], and when the Philistines, and when the Amalekites and Edomites, and when the Syrians, and from all these who opposed him, the Lord saved David, for he trusted in Him and kept His law. But as for those kings who did not trust in Him, the evil ones, the Lord did not save them, for they were delivered into the hand of their enemies, for death is from the Lord. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, and He saved him from the hand of the arrogant Syrian. But Manasseh his son was delivered into the hand of his enemy, for he did not place his trust in the Lord. And those who delivered Manasseh to his enemy were not like him, but they burned him and took him to their country, for he did not place his trust in the Lord and did not fear the one who honored him, exalted him, and magnified him.

...and how he multiplies the gift he has given, because he who trusts in his path to the Lord his God, his days are prolonged, and his enemy is subdued before him, and he gains strength and firmness and completion and endurance. For from a multitude of troops, he who trusts in the Lord prevails, more than trusting in horses and shields and bows. For he who trusts in the Lord lives and is honored and exalted continually. And those who did not trust in the Lord but trusted in the abundance of their wealth, they were stripped and expelled from the grace he had given them, because the Lord does not turn away his face. And those who trust in him, he protects them; and those who magnify him, he magnifies them. And their help is not slow at the time of their distress, when their enemies oppose them, because they do not harden their hearts against the will of the Lord and the observance of the commandments of the Lord. And he who hardens himself in the will of the Lord and in the will of his commandments and observes his law, that one will be victorious over his enemy at the time of his distress. And he rejoices in the slaughter of his enemy and in the captivity of the sons of his enemies, and in the plunder of the land of his enemy, and in the abundance of his harvests, and in the fruit of his vineyards, and in the fatness of his fields, and in the fruit of his gardens, and in the spring and the rains and the grass and the foliage, and in his trees, so that your people who are under your hand may rejoice, and they may eat their fill of grain from afar, and they may be sated with the milk of their enemies, and with cattle and flocks and sheep, and they may eat their fill of grain from afar, and they may plunder the children of their enemies.

...and for him who loves, the Lord does; and for him who prays to him, he makes his enemy a captive of the net; and he binds his hands and his feet, and he casts him into the hand of his enemy, and he makes his enemies a spoil; and he does not rejoice in the seed of his house, because he has become a transgressor of the commandment of the Lord, and a shedder of blood; and he does not stand in judgment; and he makes the fruit of their deeds bitter for those who do evil, for the doers of evil, when he repays evil for the doers of evil; but for the doers of good, as he repays good, it is commanded from the Lord by his hand, as he preserves them; and he himself, as he preserves the commandment, because over him is he who is over all that he created, as he does good and gives them eternal life; and they praise the Lord who created them; and there is none who transgresses his commandment, from those whom he created, except man alone; and all of them know him and are preserved in his commandment and in his ordinance, as the Lord commanded them for all who live according to their ordinances; and for man, he transgresses against that which he has set over all beasts and animals and over all birds that the Lord created, whether in the sea or on dry land; and all that the Lord created he gave to our father Adam, as he does what he wills, and he commands them as grass in the earth, and he subdues them and makes them, whether beasts or animals; and the Lord gave them to be commanded for man.

And as for men, those who obey the Lord in the glory He gave them, and who humble themselves before all that He created, they serve Him and obey Him. But if they rebel against His command, He Himself will burn them with the wealth He gave them, and He will bring low him who does His will, for He is the Lord of heaven and earth. And He whom He wills, He exalts; and He whom He wills, He humbles, and He kills and He revives, He punishes and He forgives. And there is no other like Him, and there is none who can oppose Him, for He is the Lord of all that He created. And there is no other God besides Him, in heaven above and on earth below. And He exalts and He humbles, and He kills and He revives, and He punishes and He forgives, and He enriches and He impoverishes. And He grants to those who ask Him, and to him who does His will with a pure heart, He Himself hears their prayers and fulfills their will in all that they asked of Him. And He gives them small and great, and all that is theirs, in the mountains and hills, in caves and caverns, and on the face of the earth, and sea, and dry land. And all that is theirs belongs to those who do the will of their God, and He does not deprive them of His blessing, and He gives them the crown of their glory. And in heaven He gives them the glory which He prepared for their fathers, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for David, Hezekiah, and Samuel, who rebelled against His command and against the judgment of the Lord, as He gave them the inheritance of the covenant which He made with their fathers, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who from the beginning pleased Him, and as they rejoice in His kingdom.

Chapter 22 Remember the names of those who do good deeds, and do not forget their deeds. And be zealous that your name may be like their name, so that in the heavens you may rejoice with them in the abode of light which the Lord prepared for the good kings and nobles who did the will of the Lord. Again, know and inquire into the names of the evil kings and nobles, how they are condemned and punished among men after their death. And in the heavens also they are condemned with the wicked and the oppressors who did not do the will of the Lord, because while they saw and heard, they did not correct their ways. Do not walk in the path of the wicked whom the Lord cursed because of the evil of their deeds. Be good, gentle, and merciful, and open the way for righteousness, and justify the orphan and the widow, and save them from the hand of those who oppress them, the sinners. And stand for the widow as a father, so that you may save her from the hand of him who oppresses her. And judge when the orphan cries out within you, as you would not judge in the sea of fire where sinners who did not repent are condemned. Direct your mind into the path of peace, and desire peace and humility, for the eyes of the Lord are upon his righteous ones, and his ear is upon their prayers. The Lord is jealous toward those who do evil, so that their memory is erased from the earth, and he leaves nothing that breathes in the mountains or in the plains.

And do not let my face be erased until I have destroyed those who have rejected my word, for I am a jealous God, I who take vengeance on those who curse me and on those who reject my word. And I honor those who honor me and keep my word. Chapter 23 Do not walk on the path of Cain, who killed his brother out of jealousy, having followed him while pretending to give him food, his brother. And he indeed killed his brother out of jealousy over a woman. And like him are those who commit iniquity, jealousy, and deceit upon their neighbor. And they walked on the path of Cain, and not on the path of Abel the meek, for Abel was meek as a sheep, and innocent as the blood of a sheep, pure, who offered to God with a pure heart. And those who walk on the path of Abel the meek, they love God, for they were meek like Abel, for everyone who walks in meekness, God loves him, like Abel the righteous and meek. And for the wicked, God abhors them, and their judgment is severe, written in their hearts in their books, and they read them at the time of judgment before the angels, men, and all creation. Then the arrogant and the violent who did not do the will of God will be ashamed. And the word of condemnation will be given to them, which says: their judgment is in the fire of judgment, where there is no escape, forever.

Chapter 24 Gideon, when he trusted in the Lord, with a few troops destroyed the army of Moab and thousands of troops who had no number, like locusts, and an army of slingers. Do not trust in other gods, for there is no other god besides me, O kings and nobles, for I am the Lord, your God, who brought you forth from the womb of your mother and nourished you and raised you and established you and set you in order. Why do you believe in and worship another god besides me? All this I have done for you, and what have you given me? And what do I desire from you except that you save your souls, that you may walk in my law and in my ordinance and in my commandment? And I myself have given you the salvation of your souls. The Lord who rules over all said, Save yourselves from idols and from worship and from Maryam, for there is punishment of the Lord. It will come upon those who do this and upon those who listen to them and upon those who do their will and upon those who associate with them and upon those who walk in their commandments, for peoples will rise up against you who do not know you and will not pity you and will consume the fruit of your labor if you do not do the will of the Lord, which he did for you according to what his prophets said, from Samuel the prophet and also what Ezekiel said, and Enoch, and Asaph the prophet.

And he said, "The wicked and the oppressors come, while they strip off their garments, and there is no other law among them except eating and drinking. They have adorned themselves with gold and silver, and for every act of righteousness that the Lord commands, they are unwilling. But they are eager for gluttony in eating and drinking, as if they had risen from their sleep. From morning until evening, they hasten in evil deeds, and for their shame there is no path of peace. Rather, they have trodden a path of hardship and punishment. They do not know the path of peace, and there is no fear of God before their eyes. The people are wicked and oppressive, who have no salt and no faith—gluttons, eaters, drinkers, drunkards, and those without law have corrupted them. They are in pasture, in the shedding of blood, in a snare, in deceit, and in the seizure of others' property through rebellion. And there are judges without law and justice, and there is no fear on their faces, for they do not fear the Lord who created them. They are not ashamed before the face of a person who sees them, nor before the face of an elder, nor before the face of an old man. And as they have heard of worldly wealth, they inherit what is theirs without seeing it with their own eyes. And as they have seen with their own eyes, they imagine that they have swallowed it with their mouths, for there is no fear of God before their eyes. Their judges are also devourers of bribes, and what they say in the morning they do not repeat in the evening, for they are liars. There is no truth in their mouths.

And their kings, the wicked ones, do evil, for they strip the garments of the poor and the needy, and they do not clothe the strangers from the hand that oppresses them. And because of this, they are not kings, righteous ones, but they call the stranger and the oppressed. And they are plunderers and oppressors who drink blood and do not show mercy to the orphan with the mother, nor to the bird with its chicks, for their path is crooked. Everything they see and touch, they seize as their own. And they do not show mercy to the poor and the destitute, but they love to gather for themselves and they seize the property of others through violence. And everything they find, they gather as if to store in their houses and rejoice therein. Woe to their souls when the Lord strikes them in his wrath, because they did not order their conduct during their lives, for they perish quickly like one who came out of the womb, who is not found for ten years and does not enter his house. And likewise, they perish in a moment on the day when the Lord humbles them; they are destroyed in his time, for the Lord does not hasten to destroy them, but he delays if they enter into repentance. And if they do not enter into repentance, the Lord destroys them like the former ones who before them did not keep the commandment of the Lord in purity. And they are eaters of human flesh and drinkers of blood, and there is no fear of the Lord at any time, for oppression increases for the wicked from the time they rise from their sleep, and they do not cease from the work of violence.

Food and drink and abundance in evil and sin, as they destroy the souls of many upon the earth. Chapter 25 Alas, alas for their souls! When I seized them in my wrath, says the Lord who rules over all, for they corrupted their path, and all who walk in the path of Satan are lost. And they did not know the path of the Lord, and they rejected it after their own will, and they despised my law. And I also will judge them according to their evil deeds in the end, on the day of judgment, I will take vengeance on them as it is written with me: their evil deeds, and they will not escape from my hands, for I am the Lord God who kills and gives life, who punishes and forgives. And there is none who can escape from my hands, neither beneath the earth nor above the heavens, nor the sea nor the rivers of waters, for I am the Lord from one end to the ends of the world, and the soul of all is in my hands. Likewise, I command beneath the earth, and for the fly in the sea, and for the birds in the air, and for the creeping things in the desert from its end to its end, and to the ends of my world, it is mine. And there is none who can escape from my hands, in heaven above and on earth below, for I am the one who makes the rain and the wonder before my eyes, and there is none who can say to me, "Where are you going?" and "What are you doing?" And I command over the angels and the chiefs, and every name that is named is mine, and all the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the field and the animals are mine.

And the wind of the south and the burning heat of the desert and the sea of Eritrea will be diminished by the greatness of his majesty for him who comes to her at the end of times, for he is the one who judges the living and the dead, together with Nuba and Saba and Ethiopia and Hindek and all that is within their borders and boundaries. And he sees all with the rod that is in his hand, and he sees his sheep with the rod, for his rod is higher than all rods, and his horn is stronger than all horns, and his kingdom is higher than all kingdoms, and his authority holds all the world, which can contain all, and there is none who can turn him back. He commands the clouds above, and he makes grass grow for animals below, and he gives fruit upon the plants, and he establishes for all according to their kind, and according to their fruit, and according to their growth, for all that he created, for the cold and for the hot beneath the earth, and for wild beasts and for animals upon the earth. He grants the prayer of him who prays, and he does not reject the requests of the ignorant and of the children of death. And the prayer of the pure who pray to him at all times is accepted, for the counsel of the wicked is like a passing wind, and the gatherings of the unjust are like the dust of a cloud, and their joy is like a bird that passes by, and the beauty of their vision is fleeting, like gold and silver upon the earth, and their wealth does not endure, but it is the seal of the wicked and the garment of the evil is consumed by moths.

And the wise and the merchants and the artisans will be forgotten in the heat and the cold, and everything will pass like yesterday, for you, the day has passed, and like that which is cut off from the mouth of a word, the wealth of sinners will not be as great as that, and like a shadow that passes, so is the beauty of their dwelling, and like a garment of shame, so is the wealth of sinners before God. But the righteous, even if their wealth is not seen by God, because while they teach, their wealth burns, and they judge the judgment of orphans and the poor, and while they clothe the naked from their garments, and while they are not seen from the seed of their house which God gave them, as they give to the stranger and to the poor, and they do not pervert the judgment of the faithful, and they do not increase the grass for the moth, and they do not commit iniquity within the thought of their hearts, and not with the measure of their scales, because the righteousness and the honorable word of God are like a full measure. Chapter 26 And the judges again will enter into their sanctuaries, and if they do not know them, the fruits will become like dry wood which has no moisture, and where there is no moisture, the root does not sprout, and when there is no root, the shoot does not sprout, and if the shoot does not sprout, it does not produce fruit, because the shoot is cut off for the sprouting of fruit, and where there is no fruit, there is no good deed, for the head of a man is the fruit of righteousness. And if he has done righteousness, he has chosen goodness, and God will rejoice in a man who does righteousness and goodness.

And he has prayer, the prayer of the one who prayed, and fasting, his nostrils, and it does not harm the righteous on account of his righteousness which he performed, and that which justifies the sinner without repentance on account of the evil of his deed which he performed, for the righteous one is the Lord, and he loved righteousness, and he does not favor the face of the rich nor the poor in judgment, for he is the messenger of heaven and earth, and the soul of all is in his hand. Chapter 27 And he created the whole world from nothing, and he arranged and established mountains and hills, and he fixed the earth upon the water, and like a ball in the hollow of the hand, for first of all, the Lord said, "Let there be light," and light came to be while darkness was the world, and the Lord performed the work and arranged and fixed the world in what is fitting and what is proper, and he said, "Let there be evening and darkness," and again the Lord said, "Let there be light and morning," and light came to be, and he raised the lower water above the sky, and he spread it out like a garment, and with the wind he supported it, and for the lower water he confined it beneath the depths of the sea, and trees in the hollow of the harbors of the sea, and he fixed them with his spirit so that they would not be moved beneath the lower part, and he confined the wild beasts and the animals within it, and for the huge animals within it which have no number, those that are visible and those that are not visible. And on the third day the Lord made plants upon the dry land, and all grass and trees of various kinds, and fruits that bear fruit.

And the tree of life, which is good to see and sweet to eat, and grass and all the herbs of the earth, from within it he saw. And he ordained food for all beasts and wild animals and for birds, and he gave pasture to all that he created. And evening and morning and the fourth day passed. He said, “Let there be light in the firmament of heaven,” and the Lord made the sun and the moon and the stars, and placed them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth and to give light by day and by night. Then the sun, moon, and stars were separated into day and night. And on the fifth day the Lord created all wild animals and beasts to dwell in the heavens, and all birds that fly in the air, and all that creep and that do not creep; all these the Lord created. And on the sixth day he created all wild animals and beasts and trees and every creature, and he created Adam in his image and likeness. And he entrusted to him all the wild animals and beasts that he had created, that he might rule over them, and he gave him all beasts and wild animals and fish and creatures of the sea, and sheep and all cattle upon the earth, and beasts that creep and that do not creep. And he gave to the son of the living one, whom he made in his image and likeness, and commanded that he eat and work the garden and praise the Lord there, and that he not transgress the commandment of the Lord, and that he not eat from the tree that distinguishes good and evil, the tree of death.

For he said, “On the day you eat from this tree of death, you will die.” And by the cunning of the serpent, Eve was deceived and ate from that tree, and she gave to our father Adam, and he ate from that tree, and he brought death upon himself and upon his children. And the Lord was angry with our father Adam because he transgressed his command and ate from that tree which the Lord had commanded him not to eat from. And he expelled him from the garden and gave him this land of thorns and thistles, which is a curse upon him, because he violated his command, so that he might till and eat the fruit of his labor by the sweat of his face. And when the Lord had cast him out into this land, Adam was seized with sorrow and grief of heart, and he began to till the land and to eat by the sweat of his face and by toil and by fasting. Chapter 28 And after that, there were many children, and among them were those who praised and honored the Lord and did not transgress his command. And there were also prophets who prophesied what had been and what would be. And there were among the children of sinners those who mocked and scorned. Cain, the firstborn of Adam, became a murderer and killed his brother Abel. And the Lord was angry with the murderer because he killed his brother Abel, and with the earth also, because it drank his blood, the Lord was angry with her. And to Cain the Lord said, “Where is your brother Abel?” And Cain said, in the pride of his heart, “I am the keeper of Abel, my brother.

And Abel was righteous, and Cain was a sinner, for he killed his brother Abel the righteous. And Seth was born, the righteous, because Adam begot females and males, and among them were good and evil. And among them were prophets and righteous ones, and among them were sinners and idolaters, and among them were good and blessed ones who did the will of their father Adam, and all that he told to Seth his son. From Adam until Noah the righteous, who kept the commandment of God, and he also instructed them and told his children the will of God, and they told their children, and they were instructed in the will of God, as their father Noah told them, that they should not transgress the commandment of God. And they were teaching those who came after them, their children. But Satan, while opposing them, would say to those who said, “Oh,” and he would speak to them in the tombs of their fathers, in the form of an idol, and they would do all that he commanded them, that teacher of evil, and they would worship idols according to their custom, until the time of the departure of Abraham the righteous, who did the will of God. And God covenanted with him, giving him the land as an inheritance for him and his seed forever, because he was the first to walk in the path of righteousness from his youth. And God covenanted with him to give him the land as an inheritance for him and his seed forever. And likewise, with Isaac, he covenanted to give him the inheritance of his father Abraham, and with Jacob likewise, he covenanted to give him the inheritance of his father Isaac.

And their seed after them, for the children of Jacob, they appointed kings and priests from the lineage of the people of Israel, and blessed them, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, each one,” and gave them the inheritance of their fathers, and they did not abandon the worship of the Lord, while he fed them and provided for them in everything. And when he would kill them, he himself would remember them and they would repent and turn to the Lord, because the Lord loves them and has mercy on them. And not on account of themselves, but on account of their fathers, because he is merciful and forgiving to all whom he created, and he extends his right hand in blessing, as he would satisfy a hungry soul, and open an eye for mercy, and as he would increase the harvest for the harvest season, and give a harvest to the fruit of the fields, and to all who serve him. And for the children of Israel, he would save them from the hand of their enemies and oppressors, and when they cried out to him, again they would return as if to worship him, and he would send against them nations and their enemies who had attacked them, and they would destroy them, kill them, and drive them out. And again they would cry out to the Lord with weeping and lamentation, and he would send them help, when he saved them by the hand of the prophets. And when he saved them by the hand of the judges, and when they worshipped the Lord, their enemies submitted to them and surrendered to them and did not harm them. And David arose and saved them from the hand of Goliath, and again they worshipped the Lord, and he sent against them those who would persecute them.

And again he saved them by the hand of Jephthah, and again they offered [sacrifice] to the Lord who had saved them. And he sent against them evil enemies who mocked them and drove them out and oppressed them, because the Lord had favored them. And again they cried out to him when they were distressed, and he saved them by the hand of Gideon. And again they offered [sacrifice] to the Lord with the work of their hands. And again he sent to them those who mocked them, and they grieved and wept and cried out to the Lord. And again he saved them by the hand of Samson. And they ceased from women for a time and arose to offer [sacrifice] to the Lord because of the evil they had done before. And again he sent to them a second time those who oppressed them, and again they cried out and wept to the Lord that he might send [help] to them, and he saved them by the hand of Deborah and Barak. And again they were for a few days while they served the Lord, and again they offered [sacrifice] and made offering to the Lord because of their former evil. And again he sent to them a second time those who oppressed them, and again he saved them by the hand of Judith. And again they ceased from women and arose to offer [sacrifice] to the Lord as before, because of their evil. And again he raised up against them peoples who would punish them, and they cried out and wept to the Lord, and he saved them by the hand of Mattathias and his sons over the rulers of the house.

Because Jephthah had cut off the head of the shepherd Abimelech, who had come to fight against the land of Judah; and when that shepherd died, his armies were scattered, and the children of Israel smote them and slew them as far as the river Jabbok, and they did not cease. And after that, they ceased from their sin and arose to make sacrifice to the Lord. And he sent against them nations who would oppress them, and again they were oppressed and cried out to the Lord, and they were saved by the hand of the Lord, and they cried out to him, because at all times they made sacrifice to the Lord and accepted his commandment. And they drove them out and led them away to the land of the Chaldeans with their priests. And there the children of Israel abandoned the sacrifice of the Lord, the righteous ones, while they performed abominations and idolatry and mingled with the nations who drove them out. And the Lord was angry there because of their wickedness, so as to destroy them by the sword. And he sent wrath upon Artaxerxes, king of the Chaldeans, so that he would exact more than a denarius from the king’s satraps and oppress them on the day on which the miracle occurred, so that not one of their seed would remain from the land of Persia to the border of Ethiopia. And thus he made a book of letters by the hand of the king and gave him a seal which was in his hand, so that it might reach every city of Persia, and they would kill them in one day, as the king commanded them on that day, for he wished to destroy them. And he ordered that the gold and silver be brought to the king’s satraps.

And when the children of Israel heard, they cried out and wept, and they cried out to the Lord and told Mordecai; and Mordecai told Esther. And Esther said, “Fast and pray.” And they cried out to the Lord, the God of Israel, all the assembly of the children of Israel, where they were. And Mordecai put on sackcloth and scattered ashes on his head, and they fasted and prayed and repented where the children of Israel were. And Esther also put on sackcloth, and although she was queen, she wore sackcloth and scattered ashes and let down her hair and did not anoint herself with perfume as the queens of Persia do, and she wept and cried out to the Lord from the depths of her heart to the God of her fathers. And because of this, the Lord gave her favor before Artaxerxes, king of Persia, and she made a great feast for the God of her fathers. And Haman the king was present at the feast that Esther made, and there the Lord decreed for Haman as he had intended to do to Mordecai, and they hanged him on a high tree. And the king’s decree was commanded that the Jews should be left where they were in all their freedom, and they should not be compelled, nor driven out, nor oppressed, nor have their property seized, nor their cities destroyed, nor their animals killed, which they loved and honored where they were throughout all the land of Persia, because thus the Lord teaches them concerning Israel when they ask and cry out to Him in repentance.

And when they sent to them, the peoples who were oppressing them, that same Amira wept and cried out and lamented, as they sent to them their help and delivered them from the hand of those who were mocking them. Chapter 29 And when the Egyptians oppressed the children of Israel with slavery and with hard labor and with every work they imposed on them, and with afflictions without number, and they called them wretched slaves and made them so, and they cried out to the Lord to deliver them from all the hard labor of Egypt. And that same Amira sent them their help, Moses and Aaron, and delivered them from the hard labor, because the Lord sent them to bring out his people from the house of bondage of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, because in his pride he had increased the sending of the people so that they would not worship and would not offer sacrifice to the Lord in the wilderness. Because the Lord humbles the proud, and because of the pride of Pharaoh, the Lord drowned him with his army in the Red Sea. And likewise, those who humble themselves to the word of the Lord, while kings and princes do not obey in all that they have commanded and urged them to do his will, he gives them their reward for those who walk in goodness and honor his great name. And if you have set my kingdom in order, I also will set their kingdom in order, says the Lord who rules all. Obey me, and I will obey you. Keep my commandments, and I will keep your soul. Walk in my commandments, and I will walk according to your heart.

Love me, and I too love your life. And trust in me, and I too will strengthen you. And rely on me, and I too will save you, says the Lord who rules over all. And do not go far, far away; draw near to me, and I will bring you near, for I love the straight paths, says the Lord who rules over all. Stretch out your hands, sinners and transgressors, and I will remove the evil of your heart. And I too will remove my wrath from you, and I will forgive you with mercy and compassion. And I will drive away from you the hostility of the oppressors who commit iniquity, as I saved David, my servant, from the many tribulations of the strong who encountered him from the hand of Goliath the Philistine, and from the hand of Saul who sought to kill him, and from the hand of Absalom his son who desired to seize his kingdom. And likewise I saved those who do my will, and obey my command, and are guided by my law, and I bequeathed them honor and exalted them above all, so that they might rejoice in this world and in the world to come. And they will become companions with the blessed kings who praised the Lord in the beauty of their lives, as Samuel, who as a child was chosen by the Lord from his youth in the beauty of his life. And he spoke as he spoke to Eli the priest, the elder of good deeds, concerning Samuel the prophet, as he ministered in the house of the Lord God. And when he grew up in the house of the Lord, as he ministered, he was accepted, and he blessed the people and anointed kings by the command of the Lord.

you close to me. And he anointed the oil of kingship in his hand when he did the will of the Lord his God, for he had made him worthy before him to rule the people whom the Lord had chosen from among the sons of Israel. And while Saul was in the kingdom, the Lord said to Samuel the prophet, "Go, anoint David, son of Jesse, from the house of Judah, for I have chosen him." Chapter 30 And I have become angry with the house of Saul because they brought me to this because of what happened to the second one. And I have now become angry with them, and I will not again restore the kingdom from his house, for they have not heeded my word. And likewise, those who have not heeded my word and do not walk according to my law and my ordinance, I will take away my wealth and my kingdom from their seed forever. And as for me, I will not again increase their greatness, except for what I have already given them, for when I increased them, they did not increase me, and when I honored them, they did not honor me. And when I did good to them, they did not do good to me, and when I taught them, they did not teach me. For I made them head over all, and they did not make me head over themselves, and when I honored them above all, they did not honor me and did not obey my command. And I have taken back the wealth that I gave them, and it will not benefit them, as I promised in my wrath. And to the one who honored me, I will honor; and to the one who loved me, I will love. Thus says the Lord who rules over all. And as for those who do not honor me and do not obey my command, I will remove them from my wealth that I gave them. Says the Lord who rules over all: to the one who loved me, I will love; and to the one who honored me, I will honor.

For I am the Lord who has made all things, and there is none who can take from my hand, in heaven above or on earth beneath. For I am the Lord who kills and brings to life, who punishes and forgives. And my greatness and glory belong to him whom I have loved, honoring him, and to him whom I have hated, I bring low. And I am the one who forgives those who love me and remember my name at all times, for the poor and the rich. I am the provider of food, and not for man alone, but also for animals, birds, wild beasts, fish in the sea, reptiles, serpents, locusts, monkeys, elephants, rhinoceroses, and all that moves in the water, and all that creeps upon the earth—it is mine. And I am the one who provides for all who need and desire me. Chapter 31 Kings do not reign without my will, and the poor do not suffer without my command, and the mighty do not prevail without my consent. And I gave grace to David and wisdom to Solomon, and I added years to Hezekiah. And I shortened the days of Goliath, and I gave strength to Samson, and then I weakened his strength. And I saved David, my servant, from the hand of Goliath the Philistine, and again from the hand of Saul the king, and again from the hand of his other Philistine who opposed him, and from the hands of all who opposed him and fought against him, because he kept my command.

And I have loved him, and all those who keep my commandments, kings and nobles, I have loved them and given them strength and victory over their enemies, for they have pleased me. And again I have given them a land of inheritance, which I promised to their fathers, a pure and bright land, that they might inherit the land of their fathers. Chapter 32 And you, kings and nobles, hear my word and keep my commandments, says the Lord of all, who rules, as the children of Israel have heard me and worshipped other gods besides me, while I am the Lord, their God, who preserved them and saved them and led them out from their fathers, and established them in all that they desired. And I raised them up upon the strength of the land, and established for them the blessing of the land, and as is fitting, the fruits of the vine which they planted, and the oil of olives, and the sweet water of springs which they dug, and the abundance of pasture, and the milk of sheep with the honey of bees, and garments of silk, and everything that is produced for them. And there is nothing that I have withheld from them of what they asked of me.

Chapter 33 And again, I fed them manna in the wilderness, bread, as David said, and the bread of his angels, the children of the living ate. And all this I gave them, and as they ruled me in righteousness and justice, and they indeed ruled me, and I loved them, said the Lord who rules all. And they listened to me and went in the path that was mine. And I, according to their deeds, I reward them, and according to the work of their hands, I loved them, because they kept my worship and did not transgress my ordinance and my counsel. And I brought them down into the judgment of the court that is in heaven and on earth; I shortened their times because they did not keep my commandments, and I will punish them. And you, O king, are you not a man who dies and decays, who becomes grass, wood, and ashes? And now you boast and exalt yourself as one who does not die forever? What is man, that now he sees life and soon death? said the Lord who rules all. And if you have kept my word and my commandment, I will make you inherit the holy city with those who did my will, the honored kings whose dwelling is bright and whose crowns and thrones are of gold and crystal, who are righteous, who sit upon them and rejoice in his city which is near the dwelling of the doers of good. And for the doers of evil, they will not be given to enter that city where the honored kings dwell, because they did not keep my word and my ordinance, said the Lord who rules all.

Chapter 34 The kingdom of the Medes will be humbled, and the kingdom of the Romans will be strengthened, one against the other, over the kingdom of Macedonia and the kingdom of Nineveh, and over the kingdom of Persia. And the kingdom of Ethiopia over the kingdom of Alexandria, and the kingdom of Moab over Amalek, for they will rise up. And a brother will rise up against his brother, and the Lord will execute vengeance, as he has decreed against them, that they may be destroyed. And he said: A kingdom will rise up against a kingdom, and a people against a people, and a country against a country. And there will be famine, and there will be slaughter, and hunger, and confusion, and turmoil, and the destruction of winter, for peace and love have arisen, and the Lord’s punishment has descended upon her. And when the day of the Lord’s wrath passes, like lightning that flashes from east to west, then each one will be rewarded according to his deed, and according to the work of his hands, and according to the fruit of his deed, for the Lord himself said: On the day of judgment they will be examined, and at the time their feet will be shaken, for their end has drawn near. This is what the Lord will cause to pass over them, for the workers of evil who have transgressed his law, into eternal judgment: the people of Judah, and Cyprus, and Samaria, and Damascus, and the people of Babylon. And also those who dwell in the deserts of Arabia, and India, and Nubia, and Saba, and Egypt, and Ethiopia, and all those who dwell upon them.

Now I, I am the one who is the Lord who made heaven and earth, and I am the one who gives glory and honor, and I am the one who kills and brings to life, and I am the one who makes the sun set and sends it into its west, and I am the one who brings good and evil, and I am the one who brings a people whom you do not know, who will eat the fruit of your planting and the pasture of your cattle and your sheep, and they will slaughter your children before you and drive them away, and you will not be able to save them, and they will eat your bread and your grain, because you feared the commandment of the Lord which you heard, because the Spirit of the Lord has not moved upon you. And he upon whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells knows everything, as Nebuchadnezzar the king said to Daniel the prophet, "For I see the Spirit of the Lord upon you." For he who has the Spirit of the Lord knows everything hidden and secret, and there is nothing that is hidden from the Spirit of the Lord, for it knows everything hidden and secret. For we are human beings, we who are destined to die, and our deeds which we did in secret will be revealed, as gold and silver are tested by fire; likewise sinners will be tested on the last day, because they transgressed the commandment of the Lord. Now then, the deeds of all the children of Israel and of all the nations will be tested.

Chapter 35 Woe to you, O mighty ones of Israel, for the Lord is angry with you because of the judgment you have unjustly rendered concerning the son of the dead. Woe to you who have gathered in the House of the Maccabees by morning and evening, and who labor and toil but do not complete the judgment of the son of the dead and the orphans, and who dwell in pasture and desert. Thus the Lord said to the mighty ones of Israel: Woe to you if you have walked according to my commandment and have not kept my word and have not loved what I love. And I myself will bring upon you punishment, plague, sickness, and destruction, like the devouring of a moth and a gnat; and your ten will not be found within your borders. And a curse will be upon your land, and everything that was before will wither at his hands, and it will be scattered over her, while he says, "Is this not the land that was full of blessing and all good things?" Thus the Lord decreed because of the wickedness of those who dwell within her. Woe to her, and her heart became proud, and she lifted up her head, and she bowed her neck until the Lord casts her down into the depths of the earth. And because of the pride of those who dwell within her, she became a curse and a desolation upon her, a thorn and a bramble. And she became a waste and a ruin, and she became a thicket and a desert, and wild beasts dwell within her. And she became a terror to those who pass through her, for the wrath of the Lord fell upon her, and she drank from the cup of his wrath because of the pride of her heart, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in her.

Chapter 36 Woe to you, O Macedonians, and you have bowed your necks, O Amalekites, for the Lord exists who will take vengeance upon you. For you have exalted yourselves up to heaven and descended into Sheol. And when the enemies of Israel were in the land of Egypt, in the kingdom of the Medes and the Moabites, he said: Woe to you, for you do not know the punishment of the Lord upon you, that you might be punished by it. And you also, O son of a year, Ishmaelite, why do you bare your neck to one who is not your own? Do you not remember that the Lord will judge you on the day of judgment, as when he arose to judge the earth? Then you will be rewarded according to the work of your hands. Why do you lift up your heart and bare your neck? said the Lord who rules all. And I will punish you as you punished those who were not your own. And behold, I sent you because you were to do as you wished, evil. And likewise I will do to you, said the Lord who rules all. And you also, if you have done good and loved what I love, then I will listen to you in all that you have asked of me, and I will do your will. If you have done my will and have hated your enemy, I will bless your work and your seed and your children. I will bless the pastures of your cattle and your sheep, and I will bless all that you have placed your hand upon, if you have kept my commandment and done what I love, said the Lord who rules all.

And if you do my will and obey my command, my punishment will overtake you—all this punishment that was proclaimed before—and you will not escape my wrath, which will come upon you at all times, because you transgressed my command and disobeyed my judgment. And you have destroyed what I established, and you have turned away from my praise and from my worship, though I created you from nothingness. And I gave you honor and praise among the people beneath you, so that you might do all that you intended: you kill and you spare, you build and you destroy, you honor and you despise, you exalt and you abase—your own will is that. But if you do the will of the Lord and walk in his commandments, he will love you, so that you may rejoice with him in his kingdom and become a portion with those who have inherited the holy city. For he said: If you obey me, I will cause you to inherit honor and dignity, and I will make you rejoice in my house of prayer, and you will be chosen and renowned, like the sacrifice of the offering. The Lord who rules over all said: Do not hinder those who do good and the path of salvation, so that you may pass from death into life. And as for those who hinder those who do good, the Lord will strike them down in all goodness, so that they may become his servants, like Job, whom the Lord protected from all evil.

And as Abraham saved them when he was about to kill them for the kingdom, and as he saved Moses from the hand of Pharaoh and from the hands of the Canaanites who were with him, Abraham, while hiding his soul, worked day and night to bring them into their idol, and he himself was driven, while magnifying them into their skulls, while laughing. And he himself, while magnifying them and fearing the Lord who created him, for he is a believer, Abraham, in whom the Lord believed from his youth, and he did not cease his worship of the Lord until the year of his death, for he loved the Lord exceedingly and did not transgress his command until the day of his death, and he taught his children to keep the command of the Lord. And they also did not transgress his command, as their father did; the seed of Abraham, his servants, did not transgress his command to the Lord. Isaac and Jacob, about whom the Lord spoke to his angels, saying, "On the face of the earth, Abraham my beloved, Isaac my offspring, and Jacob, in whom my soul delighted, from them I am glorified," said the Lord who rules all. And the children of Israel exceedingly, while making them numerous forever, and he himself, while feeding them and giving them manna in the wilderness, and clothing them, not letting them hunger nor thirst, for they were fed manna, which is the bread of knowledge.

And those who are far from God and have no hope of salvation, because they are from the evil company of servants, and they are not like their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who pleased God by the beauty of their lives. But they are like a crooked bow, and they continually worship their idols and their images and their mountains, and they eat in the mountains and in the forests and in the deserts, and they slaughter and offer sacrifices and rejoice in the work of their hands, and they eat the sacrifice and drink wine, and their drunkenness is excessive, and they dance and revel with demons, and the demons answer them in everything they ask and in all their songs and in all their dances and music without measure and without limit and without end, which God does not permit. And they sacrificed to the calf of Canaan and to Baal and to Marya Midyan and to the calves of Elophli, Dagon, and Apollo, and to Artemis, and to Rasyon, and to all the gods of the nations, which they set up to worship, all as the nations did in what they saw and heard, and all their songs and their requests and their festivals that the nations celebrate. And likewise do the people of Israel who say, "We worship God," but they do not observe the law and the commandment that Moses told them in the Torah, that they should keep the commandments of God and be far from the worship of idols, and they should not worship other gods besides the God of their fathers, who gave them the grain of the fields and raised them up on the strength of the earth and saved them from the cave of the thorns and gave them manna.

And they do not sin, those who have hoped and those who have desired, because He is their God and He saves them, those whom they have desired. And as for them, they do not abandon the worship of the Lord; and when He makes them rejoice, they offer sacrifice to the Lord. And when He rebukes them, they cry out to Him and He saves them from the distress that has befallen them. And again they rejoice openly and live in peace for a time. And then they turn their hearts and strive as if to worship the Lord like a cat, and He raises up against them peoples who have driven them out, as if to kill them, enslave them, and plunder them. And again they contend and strive and cry out to the Lord, their God. And He teaches them, not for their own sake, but for the sake of their fathers, with whom He made and established a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who from the beginning pleased the Lord by the beauty of their lives. And for those who loved Him and kept His commandments, He loved them, so that their seed might be multiplied like the sand of the sea and like the stars of the sky. And as for the sand of the sea, it signifies the souls of sinners at the resurrection of the dead, who will be cast into the sea of fire from among the children of Israel. And the souls of the righteous are like bright stars in the heights of the heavens, from the seed of the children of Israel, because the Lord said to Abraham, "Look at the sky by night and count the stars of the sky, if you are able to count them." And just as you have seen, the righteous will shine like the stars in the kingdom of heaven.

And Kaʿeb said to him, "Look into the sea and the banks of the river, and see what is within the thorns and the plants, the plants of the trees, and like that which you have sown, those who descend into hell at the resurrection of the dead." And Abraham also believed in the Lord, and because of this, righteousness was his, and he found his hope upon the earth. And after he took his wife Sarah, she found her son Isaac. And Kaʿeb in the heavens will find a kingdom because of his faith, for he believed that the dead would rise and that those who have done good would dwell in eternal life, and those who have done evil would dwell in eternal punishment at the resurrection of the dead. And the righteous who have done good will reign with him forever and ever, and those who have done evil will be judged forever and ever. Amen and amen.