The Vision of Lazarus
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A Revelation of Lazarus (Visio Lazari) describing the torments of Hell is perhaps the latest of the apocryphal apocalypses. James says that he has seen it only in Old French. It occurs in the Calendrier des Bergers, is described by Nisard in his Histoire de la Litterature Populaire, and is also to be found, illustrated by paintings of the early part of the 16th century, at the west end of the cathedral of Albi.
Here Followeth the Pains of Hell Comminatories of Sin, to Punish the Sins as Lazarus Recounted After that He Was Risen, as He Had Seen in the Parts Infernal, as it Appeareth by These Figures Ensuing One After Another
1 Our Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ, a little before his blessed passion, being in Bethany, entered into the house of a man named Simon, for to take his corporal refection:
2 And as he was sitting at the table with his apostles and disciples, there being Lazarus brother to Mary Magdalene and Martha, the which our Lord had raised from death to life;
3 The which thing Simon doubted, and prayed our Lord for to command Lazarus to shew before the assistants what he had seen in the other world: and our Lord gave him leave to speak.
4 And then the said Lazarus recounted how that he had seen in the parts infernal of hell, many great and intolerable pains, whereas sinful men and women were pained. First of pride, and consequently of all the seven deadly sins, each pain by himself.
5 First said Lazarus, I have seen in hell wheels right high, set on an hill, the which was to look on in manner of mils, incessantly turning about by great impetuosity, roaring and whirling as it were thunder. And the wheels were fixed full of hooks and cramps of iron and steel, and on them were hanged and turned the proud men and women for their pride, with their prince, captain, and master, Lucifer.
6 Pride among all other sins, is a king, a captain, and master: and as a king hath a great company of people, in the same manner hath pride a great company of vices. And as a king keepeth that which is his, in like wise doth pride keep the proud folk that be in his jurisdiction. Great sign of reprobation it is to persevere long in pride. Pride then is a sin that displeaseth God above all other sins, as much as humility pleaseth him among virtues.
7 And there is no sin that maketh a man more equal to the devil than pride doth. For the proud man will not be as other men, but he must be as the Pharisee with the devil. And for that the proud man will enhance himself above other men; the devil doth with him as the crow having a hard nut in her bill, the which she may not crack, she beareth it up a hie in the air, and then letteth it fall upon a stone whereon it breaketh, and then she descendeth and eateth it. In like wise the devil raiseth the proud man and woman for to let them fall in the hard pains of hell.
8 As much difference is between pride and humility, as the chaff and the corn, for the chaff is light and mounteth high, and the wind carrieth it about, and so is lost, and the corn which is heavy abideth low on the ground, and is gathered up and put in garners of the farmer, and is kept for the common profit, and the chaff is burnt, lost, and devoured of beasts.
9 And in this wise are the proud people raised and enhanced through the enticement of the fiend of hell, and then fall down by the moist rain of death, which maketh them heavy, and causeth them to tumble by the strength of their proud blasts into the furnace everlasting, and there to be burnt and devoured with the horrible beasts of hell.
10 Secondly, said Lazarus, I have seen in hell a flood frozen as ice, wherein the envious men and women were plunged unto the navel, and then suddenly came over them a right cold and a great wind, that grieved, and pained them right sore, and when they would invite and eschew the wonderful blasts of the wind, they plunged into the water with great shouts and cries lamentable to hear.
These Be the Envious People
11 Envy is dolor and sorrow of the heart at the felicity and prosperity of other, the which sin is sovereignly cursed, for that is it contrary to charity, that is sovereign head of all virtues, whereby it is great sign of reprobation, for by it the fiends know them that shall be damned, as charity is sign of salvation, and whereby God knoweth who shall be saved.
12 Envious people be fellows unto the devil. For if so be that an envious man do win, then he is very glad, and if he lose, he is evil angry with them. Envious men be so infect and corrupt, that good odors to them stinketh, and sweet things unto them seem sour, in like wise is the good name and prosperity of other, but stinking things, and sour to them be sweet, the which be vices, reproaches, adversities and evil fortunes, that they know or hear said of other.
13 The envious folk seek their wealth in the adversity of other, as when of the harm of other, they seek the good in rejoicing them, but with this they be not yet satisfied, but of a new they be tormented, for they have not such joy without displeasure and affliction of the heart, whereby they be tormented, for he that seeketh his wealth in the adversity of another, is like to him that seeketh the fire in the bottom of a water, or looketh for wool on an urchins back, the which things be but follies and deceptions. Envy is but the goods and felicities of this world, for the cursed sin of envy may not ascend into Heaven.
14 It is a sin difficult to heal, for it taketh root and is fixed in the heart secretly, wherefore it is hard and impossible to be done away by medicine, wherefore with great pains is any made whole that is infected with it. The envious men's tongues be likened unto a three-edged sword, that hurteth and cutteth three manner of ways, The first, he hurteth and woundeth his own soul. The second, him that he telleth his tale unto, and thirdly, he slayeth him by whom he telleth his cursed tale.
15 Thus endeth envy, and followeth the history of wrath.
Wrath
16 Thirdly said Lazarus, I have seen in hell, a great cave black and obscure, full of tables like butcher's stalls or great butchery, whereas ireful men and women were pierced through with trenching knives, and sharp swords, and with long spears pierced their bodies, wherewith the most horrible and fearful butchers of hell hewed, and sliced them with their swords and knives, without pity without ceasing.
17 As peace maketh the Conscience of a man to be the dwelling-place of God, so cursed wrath maketh it the habitation of the devil. Wrath efisceth and leeseth the eye of reason, for in a wrathful man reason is banished: there is nothing keepeth so much the image of God in man, as sweetness, peace, and love, for Almighty God will be there where peace and concord is, but wrath chaseth them from man, so that our Lord may have no abiding; the wrathful man is like to a demoniac, the which hath the devil within him, causing him to torment and strive with himself, foaming at the mouth, and gnashing with his teeth, for the intolerable pain the enemy doth unto him.
18 In likewise the wrathful man is tormented by wrath, and doth oftentimes worse than the demoniac, for without patience they beat the one with the other, saying injuries, reproaches, villainies and give themselves to the devil body and soul, and say and do many unlawful and shameful things.
19 By wrath sometime the devil getteth an whole generation or all a country. When wrath is set, then cometh noise, and then vengeance, that destroyeth and looseth all; the which happeneth sometime through one wrathful man, as an ireful does the which moveth and putteth strife among other. The fisher troubleth the water that the fish may not see his net, to the end that they may go therein and be taken: In like sort the devil troubleth a man by wrath, to the end that he know not the harm that he committed by his wrathful heart and courage.
20 Fourthly said Lazarus, I have seen in hell an horrible hall dark and black wherein was a great multitude of serpents big and small, whereas slothful men and women were tormented with bitings and stingings of venomous worms, the which pierced them through in divers parts of their bodies wounding them to the heart with unextinguishable pain.
Of Slothful People
21 Sloth is sadness of spiritual goods, that should be ordained to God, wherefore they love to serve God as they ought to do with heart and mouth, and by good operation, who that will love God, ought to know him to be the redeemer and Savior of all goodness that we have had and received every day, acknowledging ourselves sinners. Great folly it is when by sloth in the time of this brief life we gather not goods for the life eternal. But in these days many be slothful to do well, and diligent to do evil, so that if they were diligent to do well as they be to do evil, they were right happy:
22 Also sloth is the beginner of sin, and a great enemy to God, for he letteth men and women to serve God, and to know their maker and redeemer, and sender of all goodness that they have here, they be great fools, that be so slothful here in this little time of this short life, that will gather no goods to bring the soul to everlasting life: But now a days people be slothful in doing of good, and full diligent to evil, and if they were as diligent to do good as evil, they were full of grace. Now he that will think as after his death is not wise for then he shall have but the good deeds that he hath done in his life before▪ then shall he sorrow and plain of the time that he hath lost by sloth, and shall sorrow that he did no good deeds when he had time and space here in this world.
23 Here endeth sloth, and followeth the history of covetousness.
24 Fifthly said Lazarus, I have seen in the infernal parts a great number of wide cauldrons, and kettles, full of boiling lead and oil, with other hot metals molten, in the which were plunged and dipped the covetous men and women, for to fulfill and replenish them of their unsatisfied covetousness.
The Covetous Men and Women
25 Covetousness is a great sin, and wicked in the sight of God. For the covetous man imagineth more to get a penny, than the love of God, and had rather lose God than one half penny: for oftentimes for a little thing he lieth and foresweareth himself, and sinneth deadly. The faith, hope, and charity that should be in God, the covetous man putteth in his riches. First faith, for he believeth to have such things the which be necessary for him, sooner for his goods, than by the gift of God, as if that God might not help him, or as if that God had no solicitude of his servants.
26 Also the covetous man hath hope to have the more joy and consolations by his riches than God may give them. And also the covetous man setteth all his heart on his goods, and not on God, and thus the covetous man and woman have their charity in their rich chests, coffers and bags. The covetous man hath his heart more on his goods than on God: there as is the heart, there is their love, and love is charity, and so covetous men have their hearts on their goods.
27 The Covetous man sinneth gathering his goods, and in using it evil, and in loving it overmuch, and sometimes better than he doth God; the covetous man is taken in the net of the devil, by the which he looseth everlasting life for small temporal goods; as the bird doth go into the pitfall for a worm, and loseth his life: and as the mouse is taken in a fall or trap, and loseth his life for a little bacon.
28 The covetous men and women be like curs or dogs, the which do keep cartion, and when their bellies be full they lie down by it and keep away the birds that they may not eat, but dieth for hunger for fault that the curs have too much. In like wise the covetous men with-hold the goods that poor men may get none, and letteth them dye for hunger and holdeth them in their subjection, and the devil holdeth the rich men in his subjection that doth the poor men wrong.
29 Thus endeth the pain for the covetous men.
Here Followeth the Sixth Pain of Hell
30 The sixth pain said Lazarus that I have seen in a vale a flood foul and stinking at the brim, in which was a table with towels right dishonestly, whereas gluttons be fed with toads and other venomous beasts, and had to drink of the water of the said flood.
31 The throat is the gate of the body of man, so when enemies will take the castle, if they may win the gate they will lightly have all the castle: So when the devil may win the throat of a man by gluttony, easily he will have the remnant, and enter into the body accompanied of sins, for the gluttons consent unto all vices. And for this cause it were necessary to have a good guard at the gate, that the devil enter not. For when one holdeth a horse by the bridle, he may lead him where he will, so doth the devil the gluttonous man where him list.
32 The servant that is over easily nourished rebelleth oft against his master, the belly over filled with meat and drink is rebel to the soul, so that it will do no good operations. By gluttony many be dead which might have lived longer, and so they have bin homicides of themselves, for excess of too much eating and drinking corrupteth the bodies and engendereth sicknessess, the which often abridgeth and shorteneth the lives. And they that nourish well the flesh, prepare meats for worms, and so the glutton is cook of worms. A man of worship would be ashamed for to be a cook of a great Lord, more ashamed should he be, to be a cook for worms.
33 They that live after the desire of the flesh, live after the rule of the Swine, in eating without measure like an unreasonable beast. This is the hog as it were an Abbot over gluttonous people, of whom they hold their order and regule, whereby they be constrained to keep them in their cloister, that is, in the tavern, and ale-houses. And like wise as the hog their Abbot lieth in a rotten dunghill or in the miry puddle, so do they always lie in the stinking infection of gluttony, till they be drunken and without wit.
34 The seventh pain said Lazarus, I have seen a field full of deep wells replenished with fire and sulfur, where-out issued smoke thick and contagious, wherein all lecherous persons were tormented incessantly with devils.
35 Of all the seven deadly sin, lechery pleaseth most unto the devil, for it filleth and corrupteth both the body and the soul together, and by lechery the devil winneth two souls at once, and many lecherous persons will advance themselves, and say, that they may not have their full desire and lust of that sin. Lecherous men and women be more deformed and ugly than the devil in the superabundance of that sin. He is a foolish merchant that makes a bargain of the which he knoweth right well that he shall lose thereby, and repent him of his bargain again.
36 In like manner of wise, each lecherous man hath great pain, and spendeth his goods and his understanding to fulfill and accomplish his lusts and delights, and after repenteth him of his expense, and yet the worst is he is in danger of his soul till he be repentant, and do sufficient penance. The lecherous men and women living be tormented with three infernal pains, as heat, stink, and remorse of their conscience: For they be hot by strong sexual desire, they be stinking by their uncleanness, for such sin is all stinking and staineth the body and soul, where all other sins fill but the soul.
37 Also they be not without remorse of conscience for the offence they have done to God, lechery is the pit of the devil, wherein he maketh sinners to fall, to the which many helpeth the devil to cast themselves in it, when willingly they go to the brink, knowing that the devil will cast them in; good it is not to hearken to women, better it is, not to behold them, and much better it is not to touch them. To this sin belongeth foul words, villain songs, dishonest touchings, the which abhorreth not bawds, harlots, whores, and such as frequenteth and persevereth in the same.
38 Thus endeth the seven deadly sins, figured each by himself, like as Lazarus had seen in the parts infernal.
1 Our Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ, a little before his blessed passion, being in Bethany, entered into the house of a man named Simon, for to take his corporal refection:
2 And as he was sitting at the table with his apostles and disciples, there being Lazarus brother to Mary Magdalene and Martha, the which our Lord had raised from death to life;
3 The which thing Simon doubted, and prayed our Lord for to command Lazarus to shew before the assistants what he had seen in the other world: and our Lord gave him leave to speak.
4 And then the said Lazarus recounted how that he had seen in the parts infernal of hell, many great and intolerable pains, whereas sinful men and women were pained. First of pride, and consequently of all the seven deadly sins, each pain by himself.
5 First said Lazarus, I have seen in hell wheels right high, set on an hill, the which was to look on in manner of mils, incessantly turning about by great impetuosity, roaring and whirling as it were thunder. And the wheels were fixed full of hooks and cramps of iron and steel, and on them were hanged and turned the proud men and women for their pride, with their prince, captain, and master, Lucifer.
6 Pride among all other sins, is a king, a captain, and master: and as a king hath a great company of people, in the same manner hath pride a great company of vices. And as a king keepeth that which is his, in like wise doth pride keep the proud folk that be in his jurisdiction. Great sign of reprobation it is to persevere long in pride. Pride then is a sin that displeaseth God above all other sins, as much as humility pleaseth him among virtues.
7 And there is no sin that maketh a man more equal to the devil than pride doth. For the proud man will not be as other men, but he must be as the Pharisee with the devil. And for that the proud man will enhance himself above other men; the devil doth with him as the crow having a hard nut in her bill, the which she may not crack, she beareth it up a hie in the air, and then letteth it fall upon a stone whereon it breaketh, and then she descendeth and eateth it. In like wise the devil raiseth the proud man and woman for to let them fall in the hard pains of hell.
8 As much difference is between pride and humility, as the chaff and the corn, for the chaff is light and mounteth high, and the wind carrieth it about, and so is lost, and the corn which is heavy abideth low on the ground, and is gathered up and put in garners of the farmer, and is kept for the common profit, and the chaff is burnt, lost, and devoured of beasts.
9 And in this wise are the proud people raised and enhanced through the enticement of the fiend of hell, and then fall down by the moist rain of death, which maketh them heavy, and causeth them to tumble by the strength of their proud blasts into the furnace everlasting, and there to be burnt and devoured with the horrible beasts of hell.
10 Secondly, said Lazarus, I have seen in hell a flood frozen as ice, wherein the envious men and women were plunged unto the navel, and then suddenly came over them a right cold and a great wind, that grieved, and pained them right sore, and when they would invite and eschew the wonderful blasts of the wind, they plunged into the water with great shouts and cries lamentable to hear.
These Be the Envious People
11 Envy is dolor and sorrow of the heart at the felicity and prosperity of other, the which sin is sovereignly cursed, for that is it contrary to charity, that is sovereign head of all virtues, whereby it is great sign of reprobation, for by it the fiends know them that shall be damned, as charity is sign of salvation, and whereby God knoweth who shall be saved.
12 Envious people be fellows unto the devil. For if so be that an envious man do win, then he is very glad, and if he lose, he is evil angry with them. Envious men be so infect and corrupt, that good odors to them stinketh, and sweet things unto them seem sour, in like wise is the good name and prosperity of other, but stinking things, and sour to them be sweet, the which be vices, reproaches, adversities and evil fortunes, that they know or hear said of other.
13 The envious folk seek their wealth in the adversity of other, as when of the harm of other, they seek the good in rejoicing them, but with this they be not yet satisfied, but of a new they be tormented, for they have not such joy without displeasure and affliction of the heart, whereby they be tormented, for he that seeketh his wealth in the adversity of another, is like to him that seeketh the fire in the bottom of a water, or looketh for wool on an urchins back, the which things be but follies and deceptions. Envy is but the goods and felicities of this world, for the cursed sin of envy may not ascend into Heaven.
14 It is a sin difficult to heal, for it taketh root and is fixed in the heart secretly, wherefore it is hard and impossible to be done away by medicine, wherefore with great pains is any made whole that is infected with it. The envious men's tongues be likened unto a three-edged sword, that hurteth and cutteth three manner of ways, The first, he hurteth and woundeth his own soul. The second, him that he telleth his tale unto, and thirdly, he slayeth him by whom he telleth his cursed tale.
15 Thus endeth envy, and followeth the history of wrath.
Wrath
16 Thirdly said Lazarus, I have seen in hell, a great cave black and obscure, full of tables like butcher's stalls or great butchery, whereas ireful men and women were pierced through with trenching knives, and sharp swords, and with long spears pierced their bodies, wherewith the most horrible and fearful butchers of hell hewed, and sliced them with their swords and knives, without pity without ceasing.
17 As peace maketh the Conscience of a man to be the dwelling-place of God, so cursed wrath maketh it the habitation of the devil. Wrath efisceth and leeseth the eye of reason, for in a wrathful man reason is banished: there is nothing keepeth so much the image of God in man, as sweetness, peace, and love, for Almighty God will be there where peace and concord is, but wrath chaseth them from man, so that our Lord may have no abiding; the wrathful man is like to a demoniac, the which hath the devil within him, causing him to torment and strive with himself, foaming at the mouth, and gnashing with his teeth, for the intolerable pain the enemy doth unto him.
18 In likewise the wrathful man is tormented by wrath, and doth oftentimes worse than the demoniac, for without patience they beat the one with the other, saying injuries, reproaches, villainies and give themselves to the devil body and soul, and say and do many unlawful and shameful things.
19 By wrath sometime the devil getteth an whole generation or all a country. When wrath is set, then cometh noise, and then vengeance, that destroyeth and looseth all; the which happeneth sometime through one wrathful man, as an ireful does the which moveth and putteth strife among other. The fisher troubleth the water that the fish may not see his net, to the end that they may go therein and be taken: In like sort the devil troubleth a man by wrath, to the end that he know not the harm that he committed by his wrathful heart and courage.
20 Fourthly said Lazarus, I have seen in hell an horrible hall dark and black wherein was a great multitude of serpents big and small, whereas slothful men and women were tormented with bitings and stingings of venomous worms, the which pierced them through in divers parts of their bodies wounding them to the heart with unextinguishable pain.
Of Slothful People
21 Sloth is sadness of spiritual goods, that should be ordained to God, wherefore they love to serve God as they ought to do with heart and mouth, and by good operation, who that will love God, ought to know him to be the redeemer and Savior of all goodness that we have had and received every day, acknowledging ourselves sinners. Great folly it is when by sloth in the time of this brief life we gather not goods for the life eternal. But in these days many be slothful to do well, and diligent to do evil, so that if they were diligent to do well as they be to do evil, they were right happy:
22 Also sloth is the beginner of sin, and a great enemy to God, for he letteth men and women to serve God, and to know their maker and redeemer, and sender of all goodness that they have here, they be great fools, that be so slothful here in this little time of this short life, that will gather no goods to bring the soul to everlasting life: But now a days people be slothful in doing of good, and full diligent to evil, and if they were as diligent to do good as evil, they were full of grace. Now he that will think as after his death is not wise for then he shall have but the good deeds that he hath done in his life before▪ then shall he sorrow and plain of the time that he hath lost by sloth, and shall sorrow that he did no good deeds when he had time and space here in this world.
23 Here endeth sloth, and followeth the history of covetousness.
24 Fifthly said Lazarus, I have seen in the infernal parts a great number of wide cauldrons, and kettles, full of boiling lead and oil, with other hot metals molten, in the which were plunged and dipped the covetous men and women, for to fulfill and replenish them of their unsatisfied covetousness.
The Covetous Men and Women
25 Covetousness is a great sin, and wicked in the sight of God. For the covetous man imagineth more to get a penny, than the love of God, and had rather lose God than one half penny: for oftentimes for a little thing he lieth and foresweareth himself, and sinneth deadly. The faith, hope, and charity that should be in God, the covetous man putteth in his riches. First faith, for he believeth to have such things the which be necessary for him, sooner for his goods, than by the gift of God, as if that God might not help him, or as if that God had no solicitude of his servants.
26 Also the covetous man hath hope to have the more joy and consolations by his riches than God may give them. And also the covetous man setteth all his heart on his goods, and not on God, and thus the covetous man and woman have their charity in their rich chests, coffers and bags. The covetous man hath his heart more on his goods than on God: there as is the heart, there is their love, and love is charity, and so covetous men have their hearts on their goods.
27 The Covetous man sinneth gathering his goods, and in using it evil, and in loving it overmuch, and sometimes better than he doth God; the covetous man is taken in the net of the devil, by the which he looseth everlasting life for small temporal goods; as the bird doth go into the pitfall for a worm, and loseth his life: and as the mouse is taken in a fall or trap, and loseth his life for a little bacon.
28 The covetous men and women be like curs or dogs, the which do keep cartion, and when their bellies be full they lie down by it and keep away the birds that they may not eat, but dieth for hunger for fault that the curs have too much. In like wise the covetous men with-hold the goods that poor men may get none, and letteth them dye for hunger and holdeth them in their subjection, and the devil holdeth the rich men in his subjection that doth the poor men wrong.
29 Thus endeth the pain for the covetous men.
Here Followeth the Sixth Pain of Hell
30 The sixth pain said Lazarus that I have seen in a vale a flood foul and stinking at the brim, in which was a table with towels right dishonestly, whereas gluttons be fed with toads and other venomous beasts, and had to drink of the water of the said flood.
31 The throat is the gate of the body of man, so when enemies will take the castle, if they may win the gate they will lightly have all the castle: So when the devil may win the throat of a man by gluttony, easily he will have the remnant, and enter into the body accompanied of sins, for the gluttons consent unto all vices. And for this cause it were necessary to have a good guard at the gate, that the devil enter not. For when one holdeth a horse by the bridle, he may lead him where he will, so doth the devil the gluttonous man where him list.
32 The servant that is over easily nourished rebelleth oft against his master, the belly over filled with meat and drink is rebel to the soul, so that it will do no good operations. By gluttony many be dead which might have lived longer, and so they have bin homicides of themselves, for excess of too much eating and drinking corrupteth the bodies and engendereth sicknessess, the which often abridgeth and shorteneth the lives. And they that nourish well the flesh, prepare meats for worms, and so the glutton is cook of worms. A man of worship would be ashamed for to be a cook of a great Lord, more ashamed should he be, to be a cook for worms.
33 They that live after the desire of the flesh, live after the rule of the Swine, in eating without measure like an unreasonable beast. This is the hog as it were an Abbot over gluttonous people, of whom they hold their order and regule, whereby they be constrained to keep them in their cloister, that is, in the tavern, and ale-houses. And like wise as the hog their Abbot lieth in a rotten dunghill or in the miry puddle, so do they always lie in the stinking infection of gluttony, till they be drunken and without wit.
34 The seventh pain said Lazarus, I have seen a field full of deep wells replenished with fire and sulfur, where-out issued smoke thick and contagious, wherein all lecherous persons were tormented incessantly with devils.
35 Of all the seven deadly sin, lechery pleaseth most unto the devil, for it filleth and corrupteth both the body and the soul together, and by lechery the devil winneth two souls at once, and many lecherous persons will advance themselves, and say, that they may not have their full desire and lust of that sin. Lecherous men and women be more deformed and ugly than the devil in the superabundance of that sin. He is a foolish merchant that makes a bargain of the which he knoweth right well that he shall lose thereby, and repent him of his bargain again.
36 In like manner of wise, each lecherous man hath great pain, and spendeth his goods and his understanding to fulfill and accomplish his lusts and delights, and after repenteth him of his expense, and yet the worst is he is in danger of his soul till he be repentant, and do sufficient penance. The lecherous men and women living be tormented with three infernal pains, as heat, stink, and remorse of their conscience: For they be hot by strong sexual desire, they be stinking by their uncleanness, for such sin is all stinking and staineth the body and soul, where all other sins fill but the soul.
37 Also they be not without remorse of conscience for the offence they have done to God, lechery is the pit of the devil, wherein he maketh sinners to fall, to the which many helpeth the devil to cast themselves in it, when willingly they go to the brink, knowing that the devil will cast them in; good it is not to hearken to women, better it is, not to behold them, and much better it is not to touch them. To this sin belongeth foul words, villain songs, dishonest touchings, the which abhorreth not bawds, harlots, whores, and such as frequenteth and persevereth in the same.
38 Thus endeth the seven deadly sins, figured each by himself, like as Lazarus had seen in the parts infernal.
NOTE: This new translation of Visio Lazari is the most complete and clearer version on line. The shorter version that we had up at https://rejectedscriptures.weebly.com/apocryphal-text-of-the-month.html has been taken down due to incompleteness of text. We have also renumbered the verses.
The Cainite Ascension of Paul
Epiphanius of Salamis (d.403, Against All Heresies XXXVIII:ii) mentions an Ascension of Paul in use among the Cainites or Caianites during the 2nd and 3rd centuries; but this appears to have been a citation of a work independent of The Greek Apocalypse of Paul and The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, of which nothing much has survived. We have attempted a reconstruction below based on Epiphanius.
1 [Paul] ascended to the third heaven and heard ineffable words, which man may not speak. And these are the ineffable words.
2 Cain is the offspring of the stronger power and the authority above; so, moreover, are Esau, Korah and his companions, and the Sodomites; and Abel [is] of the weaker power.
3 And these represent the perfect knowledge from on high. Therefore, though the maker of this world made it his business to destroy them, he could do them no harm; they were hidden from him and translated to the aeon on high, from which the stronger power comes. For Wisdom allowed them to approach her because they were her own.
4 These powers had intercourse with Eve and sired Cain and Abel; and Cain was the son of the one, Abel of the other. And both Adam and Eve were the offspring of powers or angels like these. And the children the powers had begotten, Cain and Abel, quarreled, and the scion of the stronger power murdered the scion of the lesser and weaker.
5 And because of this Judas had found out all about them. [And he too is] possessed of superior knowledge.
The Damascus Document
The Damascus Document (the Cairo Damascus document, CD) or Damascus Rule is one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls because it is the only Qumran work discovered in the first cave's scrolls that was known before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is a composite text edited together from different sections of a larger source, and scholars have attempted to place the different sections in a chronological order to generate a more complete work of the original using evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Chapter 1
1 Now, therefore, hearken unto me all ye who know righteousness;
2 And have understanding in the works of God.
3 For He hath a controversy with all flesh, and will execute judgment upon all who despise Him. For because of the trespass of those who forsook Him, He hid His face from Israel and from His Sanctuary, and gave them over to the sword.
4 But when He remembered the covenant of the forefathers, He left a remnant to Israel, and gave them not over to destruction.
5 And in the period of the wrath three hundred and ninety years after He had given them in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon He visited them, and He made to spring forth from Israel and Aaron, a root of His planting to inherit His land, and to grow fat through the goodness of His earth.
6 And they had understanding of their iniquity, and they knew that they were guilty men, and had like the blind been groping after the way twenty years.
7 And God considered their works; for they sought Him with a perfect heart and He raised them up a Teacher of righteousness to lead them in the way of His heart.
8 And He made known to later generations what He had done to a later generation to a congregation of treacherous men: those who turned aside out of the way.
9 This was the time concerning which it was written: "As a stubborn heifer so hath Israel behaved himself stubbornly."
10 When there arose the scornful man, who talked to Israel lying words, and made them go astray in the wilderness where there was no way, to bring low the pride of the world.
11 So that they should turn aside from the paths of righteousness, and remove the landmark which the forefathers had set in their inheritance;
12 So as to make cleave unto them the curses of His covenant, to deliver them to the sword that avengeth with the vengeance of the covenant.
13 Because they sought after smooth things, and they chose deceits, and kept watch with a view to lawless deeds.
14 And they chose the best of the neck, and justified the wicked, and condemned the righteous:
15 And transgressed the covenant, and violated the statute, and attacked the soul of the righteous.
16 And all that walked uprightly their soul abhorred, and they pursued them with the sword, and rejoiced in the strife of the people.
17And so the wrath of God was kindled against their congregation, so that He laid waste all their multitude, and their deeds were uncleanness before Him.
Chapter 2
1 And now hearken unto me all ye who have entered into the covenant, and I will disclose to you the ways of the wicked.
2 The LORD loveth wisdom: and counsel He hath set before Him; prudence and knowledge minister unto Him.
3 Longsuffering is with Him and plenteousness of forgivenesses to pardon those who repent of transgression.
4 And power and might and great fury with flames of fire therein are all the angels of destruction for them who turned aside out of the way, and abhorred the statute;
5 So that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape of them.
6 For the LORD chose them not from the beginning of the world, and ere they were formed He knew their works.
7 And He abhorred their generations from of old, and hid His face from their land till they were consumed.
8 And He knew the years of their office and the number and exact statement of their periods for all the things that belong to the ages and have been, moreover whatsoever shall come to pass in their periods for all the years of eternity.
9 Yet in all of them He raised Him up men called by name, in order to leave a remnant to the earth, and to fill the face of the earth with their seed.
10 And through His Messiah He shall make them know His Set Apart Spirit. And he is true, and in the true interpretation of his name are their names: but them He hated He made to go astray.
Chapter 3
1 Now therefore, children, hearken unto me, and I will open your eyes to see, and to understand the works of the LORD. And to choose what He approveth, and to reject what He hateth:
2 To walk uprightly in all His ways, and not to go about in the thoughts of an evil imagination and with eyes full of fornication.
3 For many were led astray by them, and mighty men of valor stumbled by them from of old and until this day.
4 Because they walked in the stubbornness of their heart the watchers of heaven fell. By them were they caught because they kept not the commandment of the LORD.
5 And their children whose height was like the loftiness of the cedars and whose bodies were like the mountains fell thereby.
6 All flesh that was on dry land perished thereby. And they were as though they had not been.
7 Because they did their own will, and kept not the commandment of their Maker, until His wrath was kindled against them.
Chapter 4
1 By them went astray the sons of Noah and their families: because of them they were cut off.
2 Abraham did not walk in them, and he was friend because he kept the commandments of the LORD, and chose not the will of his own spirit.
3 And he delivered the commandment to Isaac and Jacob, and they observed it and were recorded as friends of the LORD, and members of the covenant forever.
4 The sons of Jacob went astray through them, and they were punished according to their error.
5 And their children in Egypt walked in the stubbornness of their heart, so that they took counsel against the commandments of the LORD, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
6 And they eat blood, and He cut off their males in the desert when He said to them in Kadesh: Go up and possess the land, but they hardened their spirit:
7 And they hearkened not unto the voice of their Maker the commandments of their Teacher but murmured in their tents, and so the wrath of the LORD was kindled against their congregation.
8 And their children perished by it and their kings were cut off by it, and their mighty men perished by it, and their land was made desolate by it.
9 By it the first that entered into the covenant incurred guilt, and they were delivered unto the sword, because they forsook the covenant of the LORD:
10 And they chose their own will, and went about after the stubbornness of their heart, every man doing his own will.
Chapter 5
1 But with them that held fast by the commandments of the LORD, who were left of them, the LORD confirmed the covenant of Israel forever, revealing unto them the hidden things wherein all Israel had erred:
2 His holy Sabbaths and His glorious festivals, His righteous testimonies and His true ways, and the desires of His will the which if a man do, he shall live by them He opened before them.
3 And they digged a well of many waters: and he that despises them shall not live.
4 But they wallowed in the transgression of man, and in the ways of the unclean woman, and they said that it belongs to us.
5 But the LORD wondrously pardoned their sins, and forgave their transgression, and He built them a sure house in Israel the like of which never arose from of old nor until this day.
6 They who hold fast to him are for the life of eternity, and all the glory of man is for them; as the LORD confirmed it to them through Ezekiel the prophet, saying:
7 ‘The priests and the Levites and the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My Sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from them, they shall bring near unto Me fat and blood.’
Chapter 6
1 The priests are the penitents of Israel who went forth out of the land of Judah:
2 And the Levites are they who joined them. And the sons of Zadok are the elect of Israel called by the name, that are holding office in the end of the days.
3 Behold the statement of their names according to their generations, and the period of their office, and the number of their afflictions, and the years of their sojournings, and the statement of their works.
4 The first saints whom the LORD pardoned, both justified the righteous, and condemned the wicked.
5 And all they who come after them must do according to the interpretation of the Law, In which the forefathers were instructed until the consummation of the period of these years.
6 In accordance with the covenant which God established with the forefathers in order to pardon their sins, so shall the LORD make atonement for them.
7 And on the consummation of the period of the number of these years they shall no more join themselves to the house of Judah. But shall every one stand up against his net.
8 The wall shall have been built, the boundary been far removed.
9 And during all these years Belial shall be let loose against Israel, as the LORD spake through Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, saying: ‘Fear and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land.’
10 This means the three nets of Belial, concerning which Levi the son of Jacob spake, by which he caught Israel and directed their faces to three kinds of righteousness.
11 The first is fornication, the second is the wealth of wickedness, the third is the pollution of the Sanctuary.
12 He that cometh up from this shall be caught by that, and he that escapeth from this shall be caught by that.
Chapter 7
1 The builders of the wall who walk after law-the law it is which talks, of which He said: Assuredly they shall talk-are caught by two by fornication in taking two wives during their lifetime.
2, 3 But the fundamental principle of the creation ‘Male and Female created He them.’
4 And they who went into the Ark, ‘Two and two went into the Ark.’ And as to the prince it is written:
5 ‘He shall not multiply wives unto himself.’ But David read not in the Book of the Law that was sealed, which was in the Ark;
6 For it was not opened in Israel from the day of the death of Eleazar and Joshua, and the Elders who served Ashtaroth. And it was hidden and was not discovered until Zadok arose:
7 Now they glorified the deeds of David save only the blood of Uriah, and the LORD abandoned them to him.
8 And they also pollute the Sanctuary since they separate not according to the Law, and lie with her who sees the blood of her issue.
9 And they take to wife each his brother’s daughter or his sister’s daughter.
10 But Moses said ‘Thou shalt not approach thy mother’s sister: she is thy is mother’s near kin’.
11 So the law of intercourse for males is written, and the same law holds for females; and let not the daughter of the brother uncover the nakedness of the brother of her father: he is near of kin.
12 They also polluted their holy spirit and with a tongue of blasphemies they opened the mouth against the statutes of the covenant of the LORD, saying:
13 They are not established. But abominations they speak regarding them.
14 They are all ‘kindlers of fire and setters aflame of firebrands’:
15 ‘The webs of spiders’ are their weavings and ‘the eggs of cockatrices’ are their eggs:
16 He who comes near them shall not be innocent: he that chooseth them shall be held guilty unless he was forced.
17 Aforetime the LORD visited their works, and His wrath was kindled because of their devices.
18 For ‘it is a people of no understanding’: ‘They are a nation void of counsel,’ because there is no understanding in them.
19 For aforetime arose Moses and Aaron through the prince of the Lights. But Belial raised Jochanneh and his brother with his evil device when the former delivered Israel.
Chapter 8
1 And during the period of the destruction of the land there arose those who removed the landmark and led Israel astray.
2 And the land became desolate because they spake rebellion against the commandments of God through Moses and also through His holy anointed one, and they prophesied a lie to turn away Israel from the LORD.
3 But the LORD remembered the covenant with the forefathers: and He raised up from Aaron men of understanding, and from Israel wise men;
4 And He made them to hearken, and they digged the well;
5 ‘A well the princes digged, the nobles of the people delved it by the order of the Lawgiver.’
6 The well is the Law, and they who digged it are the penitents of Israel who went forth out of the land of Judah and sojourned in the land of Damascus, all of whom the LORD called princes.
7, 8 For they sought Him and His glory was not turned back in the mouth of one of them. And the Lawgiver is he who studies the Law, in regard to whom Isaiah said,’ He bringeth forth an instrument for his work.’
9 And the nobles of the people are those who came to dig the well by the precepts in the which the Lawgiver ordained that they should walk throughout the full period of the wickedness.
10 And save them they shall get nothing until there arises the Teacher of Righteousness in the end of the days.
11 And none who have entered into the covenant shall enter into the Sanctuary to kindle His altar but they shall shut the doors concerning whom the LORD said, ‘O that there was one among you to shut the doors, so that ye might not vainly kindle the tire upon My altar;’
12 Unless they observe to do according to the true meaning of the Law until the period of the wickedness, and to sever themselves from the children of the pit, and to hold aloof from the polluted wealth of wickedness under a vow and a curse, and from the wealth of the Sanctuary:
13 And in respect to robbing the pool of His people, so that widows may be their spoil. And they may murder the fatherless:
14 And to make a difference between the clean and the unclean and to make men discern between, the holy and the profane:
15 And to observe the Sabbath according to its true meaning and the feasts and the day of the Fast according to the utterances of them who entered into the New Covenant in the land of Damascus:
16 To contribute their holy things according to the true interpretation:
17 To love every one his brother as himself, and to strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy and the stranger, and to seek every one the peace of his brother;
18 To hold aloof from harlots according to the law: and that no man should commit a trespass against his next of kin:
19 To rebuke every one his brother according to the commandment, and not to bear a grudge from day to day, and to separate from all the pollutions according to their judgments;
20 And no man shall make abominable with these his holy spirit, according as the LORD separated these from them.
21 As for all those who walk in these things in the perfection of holiness according to all the ordinances, the covenant of the LORD
Chapter 1
1 Now, therefore, hearken unto me all ye who know righteousness;
2 And have understanding in the works of God.
3 For He hath a controversy with all flesh, and will execute judgment upon all who despise Him. For because of the trespass of those who forsook Him, He hid His face from Israel and from His Sanctuary, and gave them over to the sword.
4 But when He remembered the covenant of the forefathers, He left a remnant to Israel, and gave them not over to destruction.
5 And in the period of the wrath three hundred and ninety years after He had given them in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon He visited them, and He made to spring forth from Israel and Aaron, a root of His planting to inherit His land, and to grow fat through the goodness of His earth.
6 And they had understanding of their iniquity, and they knew that they were guilty men, and had like the blind been groping after the way twenty years.
7 And God considered their works; for they sought Him with a perfect heart and He raised them up a Teacher of righteousness to lead them in the way of His heart.
8 And He made known to later generations what He had done to a later generation to a congregation of treacherous men: those who turned aside out of the way.
9 This was the time concerning which it was written: "As a stubborn heifer so hath Israel behaved himself stubbornly."
10 When there arose the scornful man, who talked to Israel lying words, and made them go astray in the wilderness where there was no way, to bring low the pride of the world.
11 So that they should turn aside from the paths of righteousness, and remove the landmark which the forefathers had set in their inheritance;
12 So as to make cleave unto them the curses of His covenant, to deliver them to the sword that avengeth with the vengeance of the covenant.
13 Because they sought after smooth things, and they chose deceits, and kept watch with a view to lawless deeds.
14 And they chose the best of the neck, and justified the wicked, and condemned the righteous:
15 And transgressed the covenant, and violated the statute, and attacked the soul of the righteous.
16 And all that walked uprightly their soul abhorred, and they pursued them with the sword, and rejoiced in the strife of the people.
17And so the wrath of God was kindled against their congregation, so that He laid waste all their multitude, and their deeds were uncleanness before Him.
Chapter 2
1 And now hearken unto me all ye who have entered into the covenant, and I will disclose to you the ways of the wicked.
2 The LORD loveth wisdom: and counsel He hath set before Him; prudence and knowledge minister unto Him.
3 Longsuffering is with Him and plenteousness of forgivenesses to pardon those who repent of transgression.
4 And power and might and great fury with flames of fire therein are all the angels of destruction for them who turned aside out of the way, and abhorred the statute;
5 So that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape of them.
6 For the LORD chose them not from the beginning of the world, and ere they were formed He knew their works.
7 And He abhorred their generations from of old, and hid His face from their land till they were consumed.
8 And He knew the years of their office and the number and exact statement of their periods for all the things that belong to the ages and have been, moreover whatsoever shall come to pass in their periods for all the years of eternity.
9 Yet in all of them He raised Him up men called by name, in order to leave a remnant to the earth, and to fill the face of the earth with their seed.
10 And through His Messiah He shall make them know His Set Apart Spirit. And he is true, and in the true interpretation of his name are their names: but them He hated He made to go astray.
Chapter 3
1 Now therefore, children, hearken unto me, and I will open your eyes to see, and to understand the works of the LORD. And to choose what He approveth, and to reject what He hateth:
2 To walk uprightly in all His ways, and not to go about in the thoughts of an evil imagination and with eyes full of fornication.
3 For many were led astray by them, and mighty men of valor stumbled by them from of old and until this day.
4 Because they walked in the stubbornness of their heart the watchers of heaven fell. By them were they caught because they kept not the commandment of the LORD.
5 And their children whose height was like the loftiness of the cedars and whose bodies were like the mountains fell thereby.
6 All flesh that was on dry land perished thereby. And they were as though they had not been.
7 Because they did their own will, and kept not the commandment of their Maker, until His wrath was kindled against them.
Chapter 4
1 By them went astray the sons of Noah and their families: because of them they were cut off.
2 Abraham did not walk in them, and he was friend because he kept the commandments of the LORD, and chose not the will of his own spirit.
3 And he delivered the commandment to Isaac and Jacob, and they observed it and were recorded as friends of the LORD, and members of the covenant forever.
4 The sons of Jacob went astray through them, and they were punished according to their error.
5 And their children in Egypt walked in the stubbornness of their heart, so that they took counsel against the commandments of the LORD, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
6 And they eat blood, and He cut off their males in the desert when He said to them in Kadesh: Go up and possess the land, but they hardened their spirit:
7 And they hearkened not unto the voice of their Maker the commandments of their Teacher but murmured in their tents, and so the wrath of the LORD was kindled against their congregation.
8 And their children perished by it and their kings were cut off by it, and their mighty men perished by it, and their land was made desolate by it.
9 By it the first that entered into the covenant incurred guilt, and they were delivered unto the sword, because they forsook the covenant of the LORD:
10 And they chose their own will, and went about after the stubbornness of their heart, every man doing his own will.
Chapter 5
1 But with them that held fast by the commandments of the LORD, who were left of them, the LORD confirmed the covenant of Israel forever, revealing unto them the hidden things wherein all Israel had erred:
2 His holy Sabbaths and His glorious festivals, His righteous testimonies and His true ways, and the desires of His will the which if a man do, he shall live by them He opened before them.
3 And they digged a well of many waters: and he that despises them shall not live.
4 But they wallowed in the transgression of man, and in the ways of the unclean woman, and they said that it belongs to us.
5 But the LORD wondrously pardoned their sins, and forgave their transgression, and He built them a sure house in Israel the like of which never arose from of old nor until this day.
6 They who hold fast to him are for the life of eternity, and all the glory of man is for them; as the LORD confirmed it to them through Ezekiel the prophet, saying:
7 ‘The priests and the Levites and the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My Sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from them, they shall bring near unto Me fat and blood.’
Chapter 6
1 The priests are the penitents of Israel who went forth out of the land of Judah:
2 And the Levites are they who joined them. And the sons of Zadok are the elect of Israel called by the name, that are holding office in the end of the days.
3 Behold the statement of their names according to their generations, and the period of their office, and the number of their afflictions, and the years of their sojournings, and the statement of their works.
4 The first saints whom the LORD pardoned, both justified the righteous, and condemned the wicked.
5 And all they who come after them must do according to the interpretation of the Law, In which the forefathers were instructed until the consummation of the period of these years.
6 In accordance with the covenant which God established with the forefathers in order to pardon their sins, so shall the LORD make atonement for them.
7 And on the consummation of the period of the number of these years they shall no more join themselves to the house of Judah. But shall every one stand up against his net.
8 The wall shall have been built, the boundary been far removed.
9 And during all these years Belial shall be let loose against Israel, as the LORD spake through Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, saying: ‘Fear and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land.’
10 This means the three nets of Belial, concerning which Levi the son of Jacob spake, by which he caught Israel and directed their faces to three kinds of righteousness.
11 The first is fornication, the second is the wealth of wickedness, the third is the pollution of the Sanctuary.
12 He that cometh up from this shall be caught by that, and he that escapeth from this shall be caught by that.
Chapter 7
1 The builders of the wall who walk after law-the law it is which talks, of which He said: Assuredly they shall talk-are caught by two by fornication in taking two wives during their lifetime.
2, 3 But the fundamental principle of the creation ‘Male and Female created He them.’
4 And they who went into the Ark, ‘Two and two went into the Ark.’ And as to the prince it is written:
5 ‘He shall not multiply wives unto himself.’ But David read not in the Book of the Law that was sealed, which was in the Ark;
6 For it was not opened in Israel from the day of the death of Eleazar and Joshua, and the Elders who served Ashtaroth. And it was hidden and was not discovered until Zadok arose:
7 Now they glorified the deeds of David save only the blood of Uriah, and the LORD abandoned them to him.
8 And they also pollute the Sanctuary since they separate not according to the Law, and lie with her who sees the blood of her issue.
9 And they take to wife each his brother’s daughter or his sister’s daughter.
10 But Moses said ‘Thou shalt not approach thy mother’s sister: she is thy is mother’s near kin’.
11 So the law of intercourse for males is written, and the same law holds for females; and let not the daughter of the brother uncover the nakedness of the brother of her father: he is near of kin.
12 They also polluted their holy spirit and with a tongue of blasphemies they opened the mouth against the statutes of the covenant of the LORD, saying:
13 They are not established. But abominations they speak regarding them.
14 They are all ‘kindlers of fire and setters aflame of firebrands’:
15 ‘The webs of spiders’ are their weavings and ‘the eggs of cockatrices’ are their eggs:
16 He who comes near them shall not be innocent: he that chooseth them shall be held guilty unless he was forced.
17 Aforetime the LORD visited their works, and His wrath was kindled because of their devices.
18 For ‘it is a people of no understanding’: ‘They are a nation void of counsel,’ because there is no understanding in them.
19 For aforetime arose Moses and Aaron through the prince of the Lights. But Belial raised Jochanneh and his brother with his evil device when the former delivered Israel.
Chapter 8
1 And during the period of the destruction of the land there arose those who removed the landmark and led Israel astray.
2 And the land became desolate because they spake rebellion against the commandments of God through Moses and also through His holy anointed one, and they prophesied a lie to turn away Israel from the LORD.
3 But the LORD remembered the covenant with the forefathers: and He raised up from Aaron men of understanding, and from Israel wise men;
4 And He made them to hearken, and they digged the well;
5 ‘A well the princes digged, the nobles of the people delved it by the order of the Lawgiver.’
6 The well is the Law, and they who digged it are the penitents of Israel who went forth out of the land of Judah and sojourned in the land of Damascus, all of whom the LORD called princes.
7, 8 For they sought Him and His glory was not turned back in the mouth of one of them. And the Lawgiver is he who studies the Law, in regard to whom Isaiah said,’ He bringeth forth an instrument for his work.’
9 And the nobles of the people are those who came to dig the well by the precepts in the which the Lawgiver ordained that they should walk throughout the full period of the wickedness.
10 And save them they shall get nothing until there arises the Teacher of Righteousness in the end of the days.
11 And none who have entered into the covenant shall enter into the Sanctuary to kindle His altar but they shall shut the doors concerning whom the LORD said, ‘O that there was one among you to shut the doors, so that ye might not vainly kindle the tire upon My altar;’
12 Unless they observe to do according to the true meaning of the Law until the period of the wickedness, and to sever themselves from the children of the pit, and to hold aloof from the polluted wealth of wickedness under a vow and a curse, and from the wealth of the Sanctuary:
13 And in respect to robbing the pool of His people, so that widows may be their spoil. And they may murder the fatherless:
14 And to make a difference between the clean and the unclean and to make men discern between, the holy and the profane:
15 And to observe the Sabbath according to its true meaning and the feasts and the day of the Fast according to the utterances of them who entered into the New Covenant in the land of Damascus:
16 To contribute their holy things according to the true interpretation:
17 To love every one his brother as himself, and to strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy and the stranger, and to seek every one the peace of his brother;
18 To hold aloof from harlots according to the law: and that no man should commit a trespass against his next of kin:
19 To rebuke every one his brother according to the commandment, and not to bear a grudge from day to day, and to separate from all the pollutions according to their judgments;
20 And no man shall make abominable with these his holy spirit, according as the LORD separated these from them.
21 As for all those who walk in these things in the perfection of holiness according to all the ordinances, the covenant of the LORD
MS A standeth fast unto them to preserve them to a thousand generations.
Chapter 9 1 And if they settle in camps according to the order of the land and take wives and beget children, they shall walk according to the Law, and according to the judgments of the ordinances according to the order of the Law as He spake, ‘between a man and his wife, and between a father and his son’. 2 But as for all them that reject [. . .] when the LORD will bring a visitation upon the land they shall be requited with the recompense of the wicked; when there shall come to pass the word which is written in the words of Isaiah the son of Amos the prophet, who said: 3 ‘He will bring upon thee and upon thy people and upon thy father’s house days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.’ 10 And when ‘he shall destroy all the sons of battle din’ [. . .]. These shall escape during the period of the first visitation, but those who proved faithless shall be delivered to the sword. 11 [Lost] 12 And this also shall be the judgment of all them who have entered into His covenant, who will not hold fast to these statues: they shall be visited for destruction through the hand of Belial. 13 This is the day on which the LORD shall visit as He hath spoken: The princes of Judah were like them that removed the landmark: upon them will I pour out My wrath like water.’ 14 For they are too sick to be healed and they have been at the head of all the rebels. 15 Because they have not turned from the way or traitors, but have wallowed in the ways of harlots, And in the wealth of wickedness and in revenge. 16 And every man beareth a grudge against his brother, and every man hateth his neighbor. 17 And the committed trespass every man against his next of kin. And drew near to unchastity: and exalted themselves with a view to wealth and unjust gain and every man did that which was right in his own eyes; 18 And they chose every man the stubbornness of his heart, and they separated not from the people. 19 And they cast off restraint with a high hand to walk in the way of the wicked, concerning whom God said: ‘Their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps’. 20 The dragons are the kings of the Gentiles and their wine is their ways, and the venom of asps is the head of the kings of Javan, who came to execute vengeance upon them. 21 But despite all these things they who builded the wall and daubed it with untempered mortar percieved not; 22 For one who was perturbed of spirit and talked lies talked to them; that the wrath of the LORD was kindled against all His congregation: 23 Nor that Moses said, ‘Not for they righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go in to inherit these nations, but because He loved they fathes and because He would keep the oath.’ 24 And such is the case of the penitents of Israel who turned aside from the way of the people. 25 Owing to the love of the LORD for the forefathers who stirred up the people to follow after Him, He loved them that came after them; for theirs is the covenant of the fathers. 26 But since He hated the builders of the wall His wrath was kindled. 27 And such will be the case of all who reject the commandments of the LORD, and forsake them and turn away in the stubbornness of their heart. 28 This is the word which Jeremiah spake to Baruch the son of Neriah, and Elisha to his servant Gehazi. All the men who entered into the New Covenant in the land of Damascus. |
MS B standeth fast unto them to preserve them for thousand s of generations. As it is written. ‘Who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.
Chapter 9 1 And if they settle in camps according to the statues of the land which were from of old and take wives according to the custom of the Law and beget children, they shall walk according to the judgments of the ordinances according to the order of the Law as He spake, 'between a man and his wife, and between a father and his son.’ 2 But as for all them that reject the commandments and the statutes they shall be requited with the recompense of the wicked; when the LORD will bring a visitation upon the land, when there shall come to pass the word which is written by the hand of Zechariah the prophet: 3 ‘O sword, awake against My shepherd and against the man that is My fellow, saith the LORD; smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn Mine hand against the little ones.’ 4 When the two houses of Israel separated, Ephraim departed from Judah, and all who proved faithless were delivered to the sword, and those who held fast escaped into the land of the North. 5 As He said, ‘And I will cause to go into captivity Siccuth your King and Chiun your images; 6 The star of your god which ye made for yourselves beyond Damascus.’ The books of the Law are the tabernacle of the King, as He said, ‘And I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.’ 7 The King is the congregation and Chiun the images are the books of the Prophets, whose words Israel has despised. 8 And the Star is he who studied the Law, who came to Damascus, as it is written, ‘There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.’ 9 The scepter is the prince of all the congregation. 10 And they that give heed unto Him are the poor of the flock’. These shall escape during the period of the visitation, but the rest shall be handed over to the sword when the Messiah comes from Aaron and Israel: 11 Just as it was during the period of the first visitation, concerning which He spake through Ezekiel’ to set a mark upon the foreheads of them that sigh and cry’, but the rest were delivered to ‘the sword that avengeth with the vengeance of the covenant’. 12 And this also shall be the judgment of all them that have entered into His covenant, who will not hold fast to these statutes: they shall be visited for destruction through the hand of Belial. 13 This is the day on which the LORD shall visit, as He hath spoken; 14 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the landmark: upon them will I pour out My wrath like water.’ 15 Because they entered into the covenant of repentance and yet have not turned from the way of traitors: But have dealt wantonly in the ways of fornication, In the wealth of wickedness and in revenge. 16 And every man beareth a grudge against his brother, and every man hateth his neighbor; 17 And they committed trespass every man against his next of kin, And drew near to unchastity: and they made themselves strong with a view to wealth and unjust gain, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes; 18 And they chose every man the stubborness of his heart, and they separated not from the people and their sins. 19 And they cast off restraint with a high hand to walk in the ways of the wicked; concerning whom the LORD said: ‘Their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps.’ 20 The dragons are the kings of the Gentiles and their wine is their ways, and the venom of asps is the head of the kings of Javen, who came to execute vengeance upon them. 21 But despite all these things they who builded the wall and daubed it with untempered mortar perceived not; 22 For one who walked in wind and weighed storms, and talked lies to man talked that the wrath of the LORD was kindled against all His congregation: 23 Nor Moses said to Israel,’Not for thy righteousness nor for the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go into inherit these nations, but because He loved they fathers and because He would keep the oath. 24 Such is the case of the penitents of Israel who turned aside from the way of the people. 25 Owing to the love of the LORD for the forefathers who admonished the people to follow after the LORD, He loved them that came after them, for theirs is the covenant of the fathers. 26 But the LORD hates and abhors the builders of the wall and His wrath was kindled against them and against all who follow after them. 27 And such will be the case of all who reject the commandments of the LORD, and forsake them and turn away in the stubbornness of their heart. 28 So are all the men who entered into the New Covenant in the land of Damascus and yet turned backward and acted treacherously and departed from the spring of living waters. |
29 They shall not be reckoned in the assembly of the people, and in its register they shall not be written, from the day when there was gathered in the Unique Teacher until there shall arise the Messiah from Aaron and from Israel.
30 And such is the case for all that enter into the congregation of the men of the perfection of holiness.
31 And as for him who abhors doing precepts of upright men, he is the man who is melted in the furnace, when his deeds become known he shalt be expelled from the congregation, as though his lot had not fallen among them that are taught of the LORD.
32 According to his trespass they shall record him as a perverted man until he come back to stand in the office of the men of the perfection of holiness.
33 And when his deeds become known in accordance with the midrash of the Law in which walk the men of the perfection of holiness, no man shall consent to be with him in wealth and labor; for all the saints of the Most High have cursed him.
34 And such shall be the case of every one who rejects the first and the last, who have placed idols upon their hearts and walked in the stubbornness of their hearts.
35 They have no share in the House of the Law.
36 With a judgment like unto that of their neighbors who turned away with the scornful men, they shall be judged.
37 For they spake error against the statutes of righteousness, and rejected the covenant and the pledge of faith, which they had affirmed in the land of Damascus; and this is the New Covenant.
38 And there shall not be unto them nor unto their families a share in the House of the Law.
39 And from the day when there was gathered in the Unique Teacher until all the men of war were consumed who walked with the man of lies about forty years;
40 And during this period there shall be kindled the wrath of the LORD against Israel as He said, ‘there is no king and no prince’ and no judge, and none that rebuketh in righteousness.
41 Those who repented of transgression in Jacob observed the covenant of God.
42 Then they spake each man with his neighbor to strengthen one another ‘Let our steps hold fast to the way of the LORD.’
43 And the LORD hearkened to their words and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD and that thought upon His name until salvation and righteousness be revealed for them that fear the LORD.
44 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and wicked, between him that serveth the LORD and him that serveth Him not.
45 And He showeth mercy unto thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments for a thousand generations.
46 From the house of Peleg that have gone out from the holy city.
47 And they trusted in the LORD throughout the period that Israel trespassed and polluted the Sanctuary and returned again to molten images.
48 The people with few words shall all be judged, each according to his spirit in the counsel of holiness.
49 And as for all those who have broken down the landmark of the Law amongst those who entered into the covenant, when there shall shine forth the glory of the LORD to Israel, they shall be cut off from the midst of the camp, and with all those who do wickedly of Judah in the days of its testing.
50 But all they who hold fast by these judgments in going out and coming in according to the Law, and listen to the voice of the Teacher and confess before the LORD saying:
51 ‘We have done wickedly, we and our fathers, because we have walked contrary to the statutes of the covenant, and true is thy judgment against us:’
52 And who lift not the hand against His holy statutes, His righteous judgment, and the testimony of His truth;
53 And are chastised by the first judgments with which the children of men were judged: and give ear to the voice of the Unique Teacher of Righteousness: and reject not the statutes of righteousness when they hear them;
54 They shall rejoice and be glad, and their heart shall exult, and they shall make themselves strong against all the children of the world, and the LORD will pardon them and they shall see His salvation; for they trust in His Set Apart Name.
Chapter 10
1 Every man who puts under the ban a man amongst men according to the ordinances of the Gentiles is to be put to death:
2 And as for that which He hath said: ‘Thou shalt not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people,’ every man of those who have entered into the covenant, who brings a charge against his neighbor whom he had not rebuked before witnesses, and yet brings it in his fierce wrath or recounts it to his elders in order to bring him into contempt, is taking vengeance and bearing a grudge.
3 But naught is written save that, ‘He taketh vengeance on His adversaries, and He beareth a grudge against His enemies.’
4 If he held his peace with regard to him from day to day, but in his fierce wrath spake against him in a matter of death, he hath testified against himself because he did not give effect to the commandment of the LORD, Who said to him:
5 ‘Thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor and not bear sin because of him.’
6 As regards the oath, touching that which He said ‘Thou shalt not avenge thee with thine own hand’, the man who makes another man swear in the open field-that is, not in the presence of the judges, or owing to their commands-hath avenged himself with his own hand.
7 And as for anything that is lost, should it not be known who has stolen it from the property of the camp in which the thing has been stolen, its owner shall proclaim it by the oath of cursing and whoso hears, if he knows and declares it not, shall be held guilty.
8 As for any restitution made by him who returns that which has not an owner, he who returns it shall confess to the priest, and that which was lost shall be given back to him, besides the ram of the guilt-offering to the priest;
9 And so everything that was lost and found and has no owner shall be given to the priests for he who found it knows not its law. If its owner is not found they shall take charge of it.
10 If a man in any matter trespasses against the Law and his neighbor and none but he sees it, if it be a matter of death, he shall make it known to the Censor in the presence of the accused in discharging the duty of reproof: and the Censor shall write it down with his own hand:
11 If he do it again before another, he shall return and make it known to the Censor.
12 If he shall be caught again before another, his judgment shall be executed.
13 And if they are two and they witness against him each on a different thing the man shall be only excluded from the Purity, provided that they are trustworthy, and that on the day on which they have seen the man they make it known to the Censor.
14 And according to the statute they shall accept two trustworthy witnesses, and not one to exclude the Purity.
15 And there shall arise no witness before the judges to cause a man to be put to death at his mouth, whose days have not been fulfilled so as to pass over unto those that are numbered and who is not a man who fears the LORD.
16 None shall be believed as a witness against his neighbor who transgresses a word of the commandment with a high hand until they are cleansed through repentance.
Chapter 11
1 And this is the order in reference to the judges of the congregation.
2 They shall amount to ten men selected from the congregation according to the time defined; four of the tribe of Levi and Aaron, and six of Israel learned in the Book of the Hagu and in the Ordinances of the Covenant, from five and twenty years old even unto sixty years old.
3 But none shall be appointed when he is sixty years old and upward to judge the congregation.
4 For through the trespasses of man his days were minished, and when the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the inhabitants of the earth, He commanded their intelligence to depart from them before they completed their days.
Chapter 12
1 As to being cleansed in water; no man shall wash in water that is filthy or insufficient for a man’s bath.
2 None shall cleanse himself in the waters of a vessel. And every pool in a rock in which there is not sufficient water for a bath, which an unclean person has touched, its waters shall be unclean like the waters of the vessel.
Chapter 13
1 As to the Sabbath, to observe it according to its law, no man shall do work on the sixth day from the time when the sun’s orb in its fullness is still without the gate, for it is He who has said, ‘Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’
2 And on the Sabbath day no man shall utter a word of folly and vanity.
3 No man shall lend aught, to his neighbor.
4 None shall dispute on matters of wealth and gain.
5 None shall speak on matters of work and labor to be done on the following morning.
6 No man shall walk in the field to do the work of his business.
7 On the Sabbath none shall walk outside his city more than a thousand cubits.
8 No man shall eat on the Sabbath day aught save that which is prepared or perishing in the field.
9 Nor shall one eat or drink unless in the camp.
10 If he was on the way and went down to wash he may drink where he stands, but he shall not draw into any vessel.
11 No man shall send the son of a stranger to do his business on the Sabbath day.
12 No man shall put on garments that are filthy or were brought by a Gentile unless they were washed in water or rubbed with frankincense.
13 No man shall fast of his own will on the Sabbath.
14 No man shall walk after the animal to pasture it outside his city more than two thousand cubits.
15 None shall lift his hand to smite it with his fist.
16 If it be stubborn he shall not remove it out of his house. No man shall carry anything from the house to the outside or from the outside into the house, and if he be in the vestibule he shall not carry anything out of it or bring in anything into it.
17 None shall open the cover of a vessel that is pasted on the Sabbath.
18 No man shall carry on him spices to go out or come in on the Sabbath.
19 None shall lift up in his dwelling house rock or earth.
20 Let not the nursing father take the sucking child to go out or to come in on the Sabbath.
21 No man shall provoke his manservant or his maid-servant or his hireling on the Sabbath.
22 No man shall help an animal in its delivery on the Sabbath day.
23 And if it falls into a pit or ditch, he shall not raise it on the Sabbath.
24 No man shall rest in a place near to the Gentiles on the Sabbath.
25 No man shall suffer himself to be polluted the Sabbath for the sake of wealth or gain on the Sabbath.
26 And if any person falls into a place of water or into a place of [. . .] he shall not bring him up by a ladder or a cord or instrument.
27 No man shall offer anything on the altar on the Sabbath, save the burnt-offering of the Sabbath, for so it is written ‘Excepting your Sabbaths’.
Chapter 14
1 No man shall send to the altar burnt-offering or meat-offering or frankincense or wood through the hand of a man that is unclean through any of the uncleannesses allowing him to defile the altar, for it is written: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the prayer of the righteous’ is like an offering of delight.’
2 And none of those who enter into the house of worship shall enter when he is unclean even though washed.
3 And when the trumpets of the Congregation sound, it shall he done before or after, and they shall not put an end to the whole service: the Sabbath is holy.
4 No man shall lie with a woman in the city of the Sanctuary to defile the city of the Sanctuary by their impurity.
5 Any man who is ruled by the spirits of Belial and speaks rebellion shall be judged by the judgement of the necromancer and wizard.
6 And he whom he leads astray into profaning the Sabbath and the Feasts shall not be put to death; but it shall be the duty of the sons of man to watch him; and should he be healed of it, they shall watch him seven years and then he shall come into the Congregation.
7 None shall stretch out his hand to shed the blood of any man from among the Gentiles for the sake of wealth or gain.
8 Nor shall he take aught of their wealth lest they blaspheme, unless by the counsel of the Community of Israel.
9 No man shall sell an animal or bird that is clean to the Gentiles, lest they sacrifice them.
10 Nor shall he sell them aught from his threshing-floor or his winepress for all his property.
11 Nor shall he sell them his manservant or maidservant who entered with him into the covenant of Abraham.
12 No man shall make himself abominable with any living creature or creeping thing, by eating of them: or of the defilements of bees or of any living creature that moveth in the waters.
13 Nor shall fish be eaten unless they were split alive and their blood was shed.
14 But all the locusts after their kind shall come into fire or into water whilst they are still living, for this is the manner of their creation.
15 And all wood and stones and dust which are polluted by the uncleanness of man are polluted like them.
16 According to their uncleanness shall be unclean he who toucheth them. And every instrument, nail, or peg in the wall which is with the dead in the house shall be unclean, like the uncleanness of an instrument of work.
Chapter 15
1 The regulation of the dwellers in the cities of Israel, according to these judgments, that a difference may be made between the unclean and the clean, and to make known the difference between the holy and the common.
2 And these statutes are to give instruction so that the whole nation may walk in them according to the Law always.
3 And according to this law shall walk the seed of Israel, and they shall not be cursed.
4 And this is the regulation of the dwellers according to which they should act during the period of the wickedness until there arises the Messiah from Aaron and Israel, up to ten men at least, to thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens.
5 And when there arise ten, the man who is a priest learned in the Book of the Hagu shall not depart. According to his word shall they all be ruled.
6 And if he is not expert in all these, but a man of the Levites is expert in these, the lot shall be that all those that enter into the camp shall go out and come in according to his word.
7 And if there be a judgment regarding the law of leprosy which is in a man, then the priest shall come and stand in the camp, and the Censor shall instruct him in the true meaning of the law.
8 And even if he is lacking in understanding He shall shut him up; for unto the priests is the judgment.
Chapter 16
1 And this is the regulation of the Censor of the camp. He shall instruct the many in the works of the LORD, and shall make them understand His wondrous mighty acts, and shall narrate before them the things of the world since its creation.
2 And he shall have mercy upon them as a father upon his children, and shall forgive all that have incurred guilt.
3 As a shepherd with his flock he shall loose all the bonds of their knots [. . .] oppressed and crushed in his congregation.
4 And every one who joins his congregation, he shall reckon him according to his works, his understanding, his might, his strength, and his wealth.
5 And they shall record him in his place in accordance with his position in a lot of the camp.
6 No man of the children of the camp shall have power to bring a man into the congregation without the word of the Censor of the camp.
7 Nor shall any man of them who have entered into the covenant of God do business with the children of the pit unless hand to hand.
8 No man shall do a thing as buying and selling unless he has spoken to the Censor of the camp, and he shall do it in the camp and not [. . .] and so to him who casts forth [. . .] they, and he who is not connected with [. . .].
9 And this is the settlement of the camps.
10 All shall not succeed to settle in the land [. .
11 . .] that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.
12 And as for all who walk in these the covenant of God standeth fast unto them to save them from all the snares of the pit, for suddenly [. . .].
Chapter 17
1 And the regulation of the dwellers of all the camps is:
2 They shall be numbered all by their names, the Priests first, the Levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth.
3 And they shall be recorded by their names one after another, the Priests first, the Levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth.
4 And so they shall be seated and so they shall ask with regard to every matter.
5 And the Priest who numbers the many shall be from thirty years old even unto sixty years old, learned in the Book of the Hagu and in all the judgements of the Law to direct them according to their judgments.
6 And the Censor who is over all the camps shall be from thirty years old even unto fifty years old, a master in every counsel of men, and in every tongue [. . .].
7 According to his word shall come in those who enter the congregation every man in his due order.
8 And as regards any matter on which it shall be incumbent for any man to speak, he shall speak to the Censor in regard to any suit or cause.
Chapter 18
1 And this is the regulation for the many in order to provide for all their needs.
2 The wages of two days every month is the rule. And they shall give it into the hands of the Censor and the judges.
3 From it they shall give [. . .] and from it they shall strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy.
4 And to the aged man who [. . .] to the vagrant and him who was taken captive of a strange people.
5 And to the virgin who has no dot and to Him whom no man careth for: every work [. . .] and not [. . .].
6 And this is the explanation of the settlement [. . .].
7 And this is the explanation of the judgments which [. . .].
8 The Messiah from Aaron and Israel.
9 And He will pardon our sins [. . .] in money and he shall know [. . .] punishment six days and who shall speak [. .
10 . .] against Moses
Chapter 19
1 [. . .] Shall not swear either by Aleph Lamed or by Aleph Daleth, but by the oath written in the curses of the covenant.
2.But the Law of Moses he shall not mention, for [. . .].
3 And if he swears and transgresses he profanes the Name.
4 And if by the curses of the covenant [. . .] the Judges.
5 And if he transgress he shall be held guilty but if he confess and make restitution he shall not bear the penalty of death.
6 And whosoever in all Israel shall enter into the covenant by a statute forever, together with their children who are not of an age to pass over into the number of those who are enrolled by the oath of the covenant, shall confirm it on their behalf.
7 And this is also the law throughout the entire period of the wickedness for every one who returns from his corrupt way.
8 On the day when he speaks with the Censor of the many they shall enrol him by the oath of the covenant that Moses established with Israel the covenant to return to the Law of Moses.
9 [. . .] with all his heart [. . .] and with all his soul: as regards that which there is found to be done by them [. . .].
10 And no man shall make known to him the laws until he stand before the Censor who shall search out concerning him when he examines him.
11 And when he imposes it upon him to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and all his soul [. . .] of him if [. . .].
12 And every thing that was revealed of the Law with regard to a suit [. . .] in him [. . .] the Censor him and shall command him [. . .] until [. . .] killed him [. . .] and the madman and all [. . .].
[loss of five lines]
13 covenant with you and with the whole of Israel.
14 Therefore the man shall impose it upon himself to return to the Law of Moses; for in it everything is accurately treated.
Chapter 20
1 And as for the exact statement of their periods to put Israel in remembrance in regard to all these, behold, it is treated accurately in the Book of the Divisions of the Seasons according to their Jubilees and their Weeks.
2 And on the day on which the man imposes it upon himself to return to the law of Moses the angel of Mastema will depart from him if he make good his word.
3 Therefore Abraham was circumcised on the day of his knowing it.
4 As to what he said, ‘That which is gone forth from thy lips thou shalt keep’ to make it good;
5 No binding oath, which a man imposes upon himself with a view to perform a commandment of the law, shall he cancel even at the risk of death.
6 Nothing which a man imposes upon himself with a view to frustrate the law shall he make good even at the risk of death.
7 As for the oath of the woman, whose oath Moses said should be disallowed, no man shall disa1low an oath which no man knew.
8 It is to be confirmed. And whether it be to disallow or to transgress the covenant, he shall disallow it and not confirm it.
9 And so is also the law for her father. As to the law of the offerings no man shall vow anything for the altar under compulsion.
10 Nor shall the priests take anything from the Israelites [. . .].
11 Nor shall a man dedicate the food [. . .] this is what he said, ‘They hunt every man his brother with a net.’
12 Nor shall devote [. . .] of all [. . .] his possession [. . .] holy [. . .] shall be punished he [. . .] who takes a vow [. . .] to the judge [. . .].
29 They shall not be reckoned in the assembly of the people, and in its register they shall not be written, from the day when there was gathered in the Unique Teacher until there shall arise the Messiah from Aaron and from Israel.
30 And such is the case for all that enter into the congregation of the men of the perfection of holiness.
31 And as for him who abhors doing precepts of upright men, he is the man who is melted in the furnace, when his deeds become known he shalt be expelled from the congregation, as though his lot had not fallen among them that are taught of the LORD.
32 According to his trespass they shall record him as a perverted man until he come back to stand in the office of the men of the perfection of holiness.
33 And when his deeds become known in accordance with the midrash of the Law in which walk the men of the perfection of holiness, no man shall consent to be with him in wealth and labor; for all the saints of the Most High have cursed him.
34 And such shall be the case of every one who rejects the first and the last, who have placed idols upon their hearts and walked in the stubbornness of their hearts.
35 They have no share in the House of the Law.
36 With a judgment like unto that of their neighbors who turned away with the scornful men, they shall be judged.
37 For they spake error against the statutes of righteousness, and rejected the covenant and the pledge of faith, which they had affirmed in the land of Damascus; and this is the New Covenant.
38 And there shall not be unto them nor unto their families a share in the House of the Law.
39 And from the day when there was gathered in the Unique Teacher until all the men of war were consumed who walked with the man of lies about forty years;
40 And during this period there shall be kindled the wrath of the LORD against Israel as He said, ‘there is no king and no prince’ and no judge, and none that rebuketh in righteousness.
41 Those who repented of transgression in Jacob observed the covenant of God.
42 Then they spake each man with his neighbor to strengthen one another ‘Let our steps hold fast to the way of the LORD.’
43 And the LORD hearkened to their words and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD and that thought upon His name until salvation and righteousness be revealed for them that fear the LORD.
44 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and wicked, between him that serveth the LORD and him that serveth Him not.
45 And He showeth mercy unto thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments for a thousand generations.
46 From the house of Peleg that have gone out from the holy city.
47 And they trusted in the LORD throughout the period that Israel trespassed and polluted the Sanctuary and returned again to molten images.
48 The people with few words shall all be judged, each according to his spirit in the counsel of holiness.
49 And as for all those who have broken down the landmark of the Law amongst those who entered into the covenant, when there shall shine forth the glory of the LORD to Israel, they shall be cut off from the midst of the camp, and with all those who do wickedly of Judah in the days of its testing.
50 But all they who hold fast by these judgments in going out and coming in according to the Law, and listen to the voice of the Teacher and confess before the LORD saying:
51 ‘We have done wickedly, we and our fathers, because we have walked contrary to the statutes of the covenant, and true is thy judgment against us:’
52 And who lift not the hand against His holy statutes, His righteous judgment, and the testimony of His truth;
53 And are chastised by the first judgments with which the children of men were judged: and give ear to the voice of the Unique Teacher of Righteousness: and reject not the statutes of righteousness when they hear them;
54 They shall rejoice and be glad, and their heart shall exult, and they shall make themselves strong against all the children of the world, and the LORD will pardon them and they shall see His salvation; for they trust in His Set Apart Name.
Chapter 10
1 Every man who puts under the ban a man amongst men according to the ordinances of the Gentiles is to be put to death:
2 And as for that which He hath said: ‘Thou shalt not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of thy people,’ every man of those who have entered into the covenant, who brings a charge against his neighbor whom he had not rebuked before witnesses, and yet brings it in his fierce wrath or recounts it to his elders in order to bring him into contempt, is taking vengeance and bearing a grudge.
3 But naught is written save that, ‘He taketh vengeance on His adversaries, and He beareth a grudge against His enemies.’
4 If he held his peace with regard to him from day to day, but in his fierce wrath spake against him in a matter of death, he hath testified against himself because he did not give effect to the commandment of the LORD, Who said to him:
5 ‘Thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor and not bear sin because of him.’
6 As regards the oath, touching that which He said ‘Thou shalt not avenge thee with thine own hand’, the man who makes another man swear in the open field-that is, not in the presence of the judges, or owing to their commands-hath avenged himself with his own hand.
7 And as for anything that is lost, should it not be known who has stolen it from the property of the camp in which the thing has been stolen, its owner shall proclaim it by the oath of cursing and whoso hears, if he knows and declares it not, shall be held guilty.
8 As for any restitution made by him who returns that which has not an owner, he who returns it shall confess to the priest, and that which was lost shall be given back to him, besides the ram of the guilt-offering to the priest;
9 And so everything that was lost and found and has no owner shall be given to the priests for he who found it knows not its law. If its owner is not found they shall take charge of it.
10 If a man in any matter trespasses against the Law and his neighbor and none but he sees it, if it be a matter of death, he shall make it known to the Censor in the presence of the accused in discharging the duty of reproof: and the Censor shall write it down with his own hand:
11 If he do it again before another, he shall return and make it known to the Censor.
12 If he shall be caught again before another, his judgment shall be executed.
13 And if they are two and they witness against him each on a different thing the man shall be only excluded from the Purity, provided that they are trustworthy, and that on the day on which they have seen the man they make it known to the Censor.
14 And according to the statute they shall accept two trustworthy witnesses, and not one to exclude the Purity.
15 And there shall arise no witness before the judges to cause a man to be put to death at his mouth, whose days have not been fulfilled so as to pass over unto those that are numbered and who is not a man who fears the LORD.
16 None shall be believed as a witness against his neighbor who transgresses a word of the commandment with a high hand until they are cleansed through repentance.
Chapter 11
1 And this is the order in reference to the judges of the congregation.
2 They shall amount to ten men selected from the congregation according to the time defined; four of the tribe of Levi and Aaron, and six of Israel learned in the Book of the Hagu and in the Ordinances of the Covenant, from five and twenty years old even unto sixty years old.
3 But none shall be appointed when he is sixty years old and upward to judge the congregation.
4 For through the trespasses of man his days were minished, and when the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the inhabitants of the earth, He commanded their intelligence to depart from them before they completed their days.
Chapter 12
1 As to being cleansed in water; no man shall wash in water that is filthy or insufficient for a man’s bath.
2 None shall cleanse himself in the waters of a vessel. And every pool in a rock in which there is not sufficient water for a bath, which an unclean person has touched, its waters shall be unclean like the waters of the vessel.
Chapter 13
1 As to the Sabbath, to observe it according to its law, no man shall do work on the sixth day from the time when the sun’s orb in its fullness is still without the gate, for it is He who has said, ‘Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’
2 And on the Sabbath day no man shall utter a word of folly and vanity.
3 No man shall lend aught, to his neighbor.
4 None shall dispute on matters of wealth and gain.
5 None shall speak on matters of work and labor to be done on the following morning.
6 No man shall walk in the field to do the work of his business.
7 On the Sabbath none shall walk outside his city more than a thousand cubits.
8 No man shall eat on the Sabbath day aught save that which is prepared or perishing in the field.
9 Nor shall one eat or drink unless in the camp.
10 If he was on the way and went down to wash he may drink where he stands, but he shall not draw into any vessel.
11 No man shall send the son of a stranger to do his business on the Sabbath day.
12 No man shall put on garments that are filthy or were brought by a Gentile unless they were washed in water or rubbed with frankincense.
13 No man shall fast of his own will on the Sabbath.
14 No man shall walk after the animal to pasture it outside his city more than two thousand cubits.
15 None shall lift his hand to smite it with his fist.
16 If it be stubborn he shall not remove it out of his house. No man shall carry anything from the house to the outside or from the outside into the house, and if he be in the vestibule he shall not carry anything out of it or bring in anything into it.
17 None shall open the cover of a vessel that is pasted on the Sabbath.
18 No man shall carry on him spices to go out or come in on the Sabbath.
19 None shall lift up in his dwelling house rock or earth.
20 Let not the nursing father take the sucking child to go out or to come in on the Sabbath.
21 No man shall provoke his manservant or his maid-servant or his hireling on the Sabbath.
22 No man shall help an animal in its delivery on the Sabbath day.
23 And if it falls into a pit or ditch, he shall not raise it on the Sabbath.
24 No man shall rest in a place near to the Gentiles on the Sabbath.
25 No man shall suffer himself to be polluted the Sabbath for the sake of wealth or gain on the Sabbath.
26 And if any person falls into a place of water or into a place of [. . .] he shall not bring him up by a ladder or a cord or instrument.
27 No man shall offer anything on the altar on the Sabbath, save the burnt-offering of the Sabbath, for so it is written ‘Excepting your Sabbaths’.
Chapter 14
1 No man shall send to the altar burnt-offering or meat-offering or frankincense or wood through the hand of a man that is unclean through any of the uncleannesses allowing him to defile the altar, for it is written: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the prayer of the righteous’ is like an offering of delight.’
2 And none of those who enter into the house of worship shall enter when he is unclean even though washed.
3 And when the trumpets of the Congregation sound, it shall he done before or after, and they shall not put an end to the whole service: the Sabbath is holy.
4 No man shall lie with a woman in the city of the Sanctuary to defile the city of the Sanctuary by their impurity.
5 Any man who is ruled by the spirits of Belial and speaks rebellion shall be judged by the judgement of the necromancer and wizard.
6 And he whom he leads astray into profaning the Sabbath and the Feasts shall not be put to death; but it shall be the duty of the sons of man to watch him; and should he be healed of it, they shall watch him seven years and then he shall come into the Congregation.
7 None shall stretch out his hand to shed the blood of any man from among the Gentiles for the sake of wealth or gain.
8 Nor shall he take aught of their wealth lest they blaspheme, unless by the counsel of the Community of Israel.
9 No man shall sell an animal or bird that is clean to the Gentiles, lest they sacrifice them.
10 Nor shall he sell them aught from his threshing-floor or his winepress for all his property.
11 Nor shall he sell them his manservant or maidservant who entered with him into the covenant of Abraham.
12 No man shall make himself abominable with any living creature or creeping thing, by eating of them: or of the defilements of bees or of any living creature that moveth in the waters.
13 Nor shall fish be eaten unless they were split alive and their blood was shed.
14 But all the locusts after their kind shall come into fire or into water whilst they are still living, for this is the manner of their creation.
15 And all wood and stones and dust which are polluted by the uncleanness of man are polluted like them.
16 According to their uncleanness shall be unclean he who toucheth them. And every instrument, nail, or peg in the wall which is with the dead in the house shall be unclean, like the uncleanness of an instrument of work.
Chapter 15
1 The regulation of the dwellers in the cities of Israel, according to these judgments, that a difference may be made between the unclean and the clean, and to make known the difference between the holy and the common.
2 And these statutes are to give instruction so that the whole nation may walk in them according to the Law always.
3 And according to this law shall walk the seed of Israel, and they shall not be cursed.
4 And this is the regulation of the dwellers according to which they should act during the period of the wickedness until there arises the Messiah from Aaron and Israel, up to ten men at least, to thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens.
5 And when there arise ten, the man who is a priest learned in the Book of the Hagu shall not depart. According to his word shall they all be ruled.
6 And if he is not expert in all these, but a man of the Levites is expert in these, the lot shall be that all those that enter into the camp shall go out and come in according to his word.
7 And if there be a judgment regarding the law of leprosy which is in a man, then the priest shall come and stand in the camp, and the Censor shall instruct him in the true meaning of the law.
8 And even if he is lacking in understanding He shall shut him up; for unto the priests is the judgment.
Chapter 16
1 And this is the regulation of the Censor of the camp. He shall instruct the many in the works of the LORD, and shall make them understand His wondrous mighty acts, and shall narrate before them the things of the world since its creation.
2 And he shall have mercy upon them as a father upon his children, and shall forgive all that have incurred guilt.
3 As a shepherd with his flock he shall loose all the bonds of their knots [. . .] oppressed and crushed in his congregation.
4 And every one who joins his congregation, he shall reckon him according to his works, his understanding, his might, his strength, and his wealth.
5 And they shall record him in his place in accordance with his position in a lot of the camp.
6 No man of the children of the camp shall have power to bring a man into the congregation without the word of the Censor of the camp.
7 Nor shall any man of them who have entered into the covenant of God do business with the children of the pit unless hand to hand.
8 No man shall do a thing as buying and selling unless he has spoken to the Censor of the camp, and he shall do it in the camp and not [. . .] and so to him who casts forth [. . .] they, and he who is not connected with [. . .].
9 And this is the settlement of the camps.
10 All shall not succeed to settle in the land [. .
11 . .] that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.
12 And as for all who walk in these the covenant of God standeth fast unto them to save them from all the snares of the pit, for suddenly [. . .].
Chapter 17
1 And the regulation of the dwellers of all the camps is:
2 They shall be numbered all by their names, the Priests first, the Levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth.
3 And they shall be recorded by their names one after another, the Priests first, the Levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth.
4 And so they shall be seated and so they shall ask with regard to every matter.
5 And the Priest who numbers the many shall be from thirty years old even unto sixty years old, learned in the Book of the Hagu and in all the judgements of the Law to direct them according to their judgments.
6 And the Censor who is over all the camps shall be from thirty years old even unto fifty years old, a master in every counsel of men, and in every tongue [. . .].
7 According to his word shall come in those who enter the congregation every man in his due order.
8 And as regards any matter on which it shall be incumbent for any man to speak, he shall speak to the Censor in regard to any suit or cause.
Chapter 18
1 And this is the regulation for the many in order to provide for all their needs.
2 The wages of two days every month is the rule. And they shall give it into the hands of the Censor and the judges.
3 From it they shall give [. . .] and from it they shall strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy.
4 And to the aged man who [. . .] to the vagrant and him who was taken captive of a strange people.
5 And to the virgin who has no dot and to Him whom no man careth for: every work [. . .] and not [. . .].
6 And this is the explanation of the settlement [. . .].
7 And this is the explanation of the judgments which [. . .].
8 The Messiah from Aaron and Israel.
9 And He will pardon our sins [. . .] in money and he shall know [. . .] punishment six days and who shall speak [. .
10 . .] against Moses
Chapter 19
1 [. . .] Shall not swear either by Aleph Lamed or by Aleph Daleth, but by the oath written in the curses of the covenant.
2.But the Law of Moses he shall not mention, for [. . .].
3 And if he swears and transgresses he profanes the Name.
4 And if by the curses of the covenant [. . .] the Judges.
5 And if he transgress he shall be held guilty but if he confess and make restitution he shall not bear the penalty of death.
6 And whosoever in all Israel shall enter into the covenant by a statute forever, together with their children who are not of an age to pass over into the number of those who are enrolled by the oath of the covenant, shall confirm it on their behalf.
7 And this is also the law throughout the entire period of the wickedness for every one who returns from his corrupt way.
8 On the day when he speaks with the Censor of the many they shall enrol him by the oath of the covenant that Moses established with Israel the covenant to return to the Law of Moses.
9 [. . .] with all his heart [. . .] and with all his soul: as regards that which there is found to be done by them [. . .].
10 And no man shall make known to him the laws until he stand before the Censor who shall search out concerning him when he examines him.
11 And when he imposes it upon him to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and all his soul [. . .] of him if [. . .].
12 And every thing that was revealed of the Law with regard to a suit [. . .] in him [. . .] the Censor him and shall command him [. . .] until [. . .] killed him [. . .] and the madman and all [. . .].
[loss of five lines]
13 covenant with you and with the whole of Israel.
14 Therefore the man shall impose it upon himself to return to the Law of Moses; for in it everything is accurately treated.
Chapter 20
1 And as for the exact statement of their periods to put Israel in remembrance in regard to all these, behold, it is treated accurately in the Book of the Divisions of the Seasons according to their Jubilees and their Weeks.
2 And on the day on which the man imposes it upon himself to return to the law of Moses the angel of Mastema will depart from him if he make good his word.
3 Therefore Abraham was circumcised on the day of his knowing it.
4 As to what he said, ‘That which is gone forth from thy lips thou shalt keep’ to make it good;
5 No binding oath, which a man imposes upon himself with a view to perform a commandment of the law, shall he cancel even at the risk of death.
6 Nothing which a man imposes upon himself with a view to frustrate the law shall he make good even at the risk of death.
7 As for the oath of the woman, whose oath Moses said should be disallowed, no man shall disa1low an oath which no man knew.
8 It is to be confirmed. And whether it be to disallow or to transgress the covenant, he shall disallow it and not confirm it.
9 And so is also the law for her father. As to the law of the offerings no man shall vow anything for the altar under compulsion.
10 Nor shall the priests take anything from the Israelites [. . .].
11 Nor shall a man dedicate the food [. . .] this is what he said, ‘They hunt every man his brother with a net.’
12 Nor shall devote [. . .] of all [. . .] his possession [. . .] holy [. . .] shall be punished he [. . .] who takes a vow [. . .] to the judge [. . .].
The Story of Perpetua
1 And as Paul was being led away to be beheaded at a place about three miles from the city, he was in irons. And there were three soldiers guarding him who were of a great family.
2 And when they had gone out of the gate about the length of a bow-shot, there met them a God-fearing woman; and she, seeing Paul dragged along in irons, had compassion on him, and wept bitterly.
3 And the name of the woman was called Perpetua; and she was one-eyed. And Paul, seeing her weeping, says to her: Give me thy handkerchief, and when I turn back I shall give it to thee. And she, having taken the handkerchief, gave it to him willingly.
4 And the soldiers laughed, and said to the woman: Why dost thou wish, woman, to lose thy handkerchief? Knowest thou not that he is going away to be beheaded? And Perpetua said to them: I adjure you by the health of Caesar to bind his eyes with this handkerchief when you cut off his head. Which also was done.
5 And they beheaded him at the place called Aquae Salviae, near the pine tree. And as God had willed, before the soldiers came back, the handkerchief, having on it drops of blood, was restored to the woman. And as she was carrying it, straightway and immediately her eye was opened.
6 And the three soldiers who had cut off the head of Saint Paul, when after three hours they came on the same day with the Bulla bringing it to Nero, having met Perpetua, they said to her: What is it, woman? Behold, by thy confidence thou hast lost thy handkerchief. But she said to them: I have both got my handkerchief, and my eye has recovered its sight.
7 And as the Lord, the God of Paul, liveth, I also have entreated him that I may be deemed worthy to become the slave of his Lord. Then the soldiers who had the Bulla, recognising the handkerchief, and seeing that her eye had been opened, cried out with a loud voice, as if from one mouth, and said: We too are the slaves of Paul's master.
8 Perpetua therefore having gone away, reported in the palace of the Emperor Nero that the soldiers who had beheaded Paul said: We shall no longer go into the city, for we believe in Christ whom Paul preached, and we are Christians.
9 Then Nero, filled with rage, ordered Perpetua, who had informed him of the soldiers, to be kept fast in irons; and as to the soldiers, he ordered one to be beheaded outside of the gate about one mile from the city, another to be cut in two, and the third to be stoned. And Perpetua was in the prison; and in this prison there was kept Potentiana, a noble maiden, because she had said: I forsake my parents and all the substance of my father, and I wish to become a Christian.
10 She therefore joined herself to Perpetua, and ascertained from her everything about Paul, and was in much anxiety about the faith in Christ.
11 And the wife of Nero was Potentiana's sister; and she secretly informed her about Christ, that those who believe in Him see everlasting joy, and that everything here is temporary, but there eternal: so that also she fled out of the palace, and some of the senators' wives with her.
12 Then Nero, having inflicted many tortures upon Perpetua, at last tied a great stone to her neck, and ordered her to be thrown over a precipice. And her remains lie at the Nomentan gate. And Potentiana also underwent many torments; and at last, having made a furnace one day, they burned her.
1 And as Paul was being led away to be beheaded at a place about three miles from the city, he was in irons. And there were three soldiers guarding him who were of a great family.
2 And when they had gone out of the gate about the length of a bow-shot, there met them a God-fearing woman; and she, seeing Paul dragged along in irons, had compassion on him, and wept bitterly.
3 And the name of the woman was called Perpetua; and she was one-eyed. And Paul, seeing her weeping, says to her: Give me thy handkerchief, and when I turn back I shall give it to thee. And she, having taken the handkerchief, gave it to him willingly.
4 And the soldiers laughed, and said to the woman: Why dost thou wish, woman, to lose thy handkerchief? Knowest thou not that he is going away to be beheaded? And Perpetua said to them: I adjure you by the health of Caesar to bind his eyes with this handkerchief when you cut off his head. Which also was done.
5 And they beheaded him at the place called Aquae Salviae, near the pine tree. And as God had willed, before the soldiers came back, the handkerchief, having on it drops of blood, was restored to the woman. And as she was carrying it, straightway and immediately her eye was opened.
6 And the three soldiers who had cut off the head of Saint Paul, when after three hours they came on the same day with the Bulla bringing it to Nero, having met Perpetua, they said to her: What is it, woman? Behold, by thy confidence thou hast lost thy handkerchief. But she said to them: I have both got my handkerchief, and my eye has recovered its sight.
7 And as the Lord, the God of Paul, liveth, I also have entreated him that I may be deemed worthy to become the slave of his Lord. Then the soldiers who had the Bulla, recognising the handkerchief, and seeing that her eye had been opened, cried out with a loud voice, as if from one mouth, and said: We too are the slaves of Paul's master.
8 Perpetua therefore having gone away, reported in the palace of the Emperor Nero that the soldiers who had beheaded Paul said: We shall no longer go into the city, for we believe in Christ whom Paul preached, and we are Christians.
9 Then Nero, filled with rage, ordered Perpetua, who had informed him of the soldiers, to be kept fast in irons; and as to the soldiers, he ordered one to be beheaded outside of the gate about one mile from the city, another to be cut in two, and the third to be stoned. And Perpetua was in the prison; and in this prison there was kept Potentiana, a noble maiden, because she had said: I forsake my parents and all the substance of my father, and I wish to become a Christian.
10 She therefore joined herself to Perpetua, and ascertained from her everything about Paul, and was in much anxiety about the faith in Christ.
11 And the wife of Nero was Potentiana's sister; and she secretly informed her about Christ, that those who believe in Him see everlasting joy, and that everything here is temporary, but there eternal: so that also she fled out of the palace, and some of the senators' wives with her.
12 Then Nero, having inflicted many tortures upon Perpetua, at last tied a great stone to her neck, and ordered her to be thrown over a precipice. And her remains lie at the Nomentan gate. And Potentiana also underwent many torments; and at last, having made a furnace one day, they burned her.
The following translation of a MS in the Bodleian Library, transcribed by Tischendorf (Apocal, Apocr., p. 158), gives an account of the martyrdom of St. Thomas:
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND ALL-RENOWNED APOSTLE THOMAS
1 After the apostle had gone forth, according to the command of our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord appeared to him, saying: Peace to thee, my disciple and apostle! And the apostle fell on his face on the ground, and prayed the Lord to reveal to him the circumstances of his precious departure.
2 And the Lord said to him: Misdeus is contriving a plan to destroy thee very soon; but, behold, he will come to me. And after having sealed him, He ascended into the heavens. And the apostle taught the people, and there was added unto the flock of Christ. But some men who hated Christ accused him before King Misdeus, saying: Destroy this sorcerer, who corrupts and deceives the people in this new one God whom he proclaims. Moreover, he has deceived thy lady and thy son.
3 On hearing this, Misdeus, without inquiry, ordered him to be laid hold of, and shut up in prison. And they quickly did what they were ordered, and threw him into the prison, and sealed it. And when the women who believed in God had heard that Judas was shut up, they gave a great sum of money to the warders, and went in to him in the prison. And the apostle says to them: My daughters, handmaidens of Jesus Christ, listen to me. In my last day I address you, because I shall no more speak in the body; for, lo, I am taken up to my Lord Jesus Christ, who has had pity upon me, who humble Himself even to my littleness.
4 And I rejoice that the time is at hand for my change from this, that I may depart and receive my reward in the end; for my Lord is just. And at the end of his discourse to them, he said: O my Savior, who hast endured much for our sake, let Thy mercies be upon us. And he sent them away, saying: The grace of the Holy Spirit be with you! And they grieved and wept, knowing that King Misdeus was going to put him to death.
5 And Judas heard the warders contending with each other, and saying: Let us go and tell the king. Thy wife and thy son are going to the prison to this sorcerer, and for their sakes thou shouldest put him to death soon. And at dawn they arose and went to King Misdeus, and said: My Lord, release that sorcerer, or cause him to be shut up elsewhere; for though we shut in the prisoners, and secure the doors, when we rise we find them opened. Nay, more: thy wife and son will not keep away from the man any more than the rest of them. And when the king heard this, he went to look at the seals. And he looked all about them on the doors, and found them as they were.
6 Then he said to the jailors: What are you telling lies about? for certainly these seals are quite safe: and how do you say that Tertia, and Mygdonia, and my son go within the prison? And the warders said: We have told thee the truth, O king. And after this the king went into the prison, and sent for the apostle. And when he came, they took off his girdle, and set him before the tribunal .And the king said: Art thou a slave, or free?
7 And Thomas said: I am One's slave. Thou hast no power over me whatever. And Misdeus says: Didst thou run away and come to this country? Thomas: I came here to save many, and I am to depart from my body by thy hands. Midseus says to him: Who is thy master? and what is his name? and what country dost thou belong to? Thomas: Thou canst not her His true name at this time; but I tell thee the name that has been given Him for the time: it is Jesus the Christ. And Misdeus says: I have been in no hurry to put thee to death, but have restrained myself; but thou hast made a display of thy works, so that thy sorceries have been heard of in every country. But no; I shall bring thee to and end, that thy sorceries may be destroyed, and our nation purified.
8 And Thomas said: What thou callest sorceries shall abound in me, and never be removed from the people here. And after this was said, Misdeus reflected in what manner he should put the apostle to death, for he was afraid of the people standing by who believed. And he arose and took Thomas outside of the city; and he was accompanied by a few armed soldiers. And the multitude suspected that the king was plotting about him, and stood and addressed themselves to him.
9 And when they had gone forth five hundred and fifty five meters, he delivered him to four soldiers and one of the warlords, and ordered them to spear him on the mountain; and he returned to the city. And those who were present ran to Thomas, eager to rescue him. And he was led away, accompanied by the soldiers, two on each side [. . .]. And Thomas, walking along, said: O Thy secret mysteries, O Jesus! for even unto the end of life are they fulfilled in us. O the riches of Thy grace! [. . .] for, lo, how four have laid hold of me, since of four elements [. . .].
(Here the fragment ends)
1 After the apostle had gone forth, according to the command of our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord appeared to him, saying: Peace to thee, my disciple and apostle! And the apostle fell on his face on the ground, and prayed the Lord to reveal to him the circumstances of his precious departure.
2 And the Lord said to him: Misdeus is contriving a plan to destroy thee very soon; but, behold, he will come to me. And after having sealed him, He ascended into the heavens. And the apostle taught the people, and there was added unto the flock of Christ. But some men who hated Christ accused him before King Misdeus, saying: Destroy this sorcerer, who corrupts and deceives the people in this new one God whom he proclaims. Moreover, he has deceived thy lady and thy son.
3 On hearing this, Misdeus, without inquiry, ordered him to be laid hold of, and shut up in prison. And they quickly did what they were ordered, and threw him into the prison, and sealed it. And when the women who believed in God had heard that Judas was shut up, they gave a great sum of money to the warders, and went in to him in the prison. And the apostle says to them: My daughters, handmaidens of Jesus Christ, listen to me. In my last day I address you, because I shall no more speak in the body; for, lo, I am taken up to my Lord Jesus Christ, who has had pity upon me, who humble Himself even to my littleness.
4 And I rejoice that the time is at hand for my change from this, that I may depart and receive my reward in the end; for my Lord is just. And at the end of his discourse to them, he said: O my Savior, who hast endured much for our sake, let Thy mercies be upon us. And he sent them away, saying: The grace of the Holy Spirit be with you! And they grieved and wept, knowing that King Misdeus was going to put him to death.
5 And Judas heard the warders contending with each other, and saying: Let us go and tell the king. Thy wife and thy son are going to the prison to this sorcerer, and for their sakes thou shouldest put him to death soon. And at dawn they arose and went to King Misdeus, and said: My Lord, release that sorcerer, or cause him to be shut up elsewhere; for though we shut in the prisoners, and secure the doors, when we rise we find them opened. Nay, more: thy wife and son will not keep away from the man any more than the rest of them. And when the king heard this, he went to look at the seals. And he looked all about them on the doors, and found them as they were.
6 Then he said to the jailors: What are you telling lies about? for certainly these seals are quite safe: and how do you say that Tertia, and Mygdonia, and my son go within the prison? And the warders said: We have told thee the truth, O king. And after this the king went into the prison, and sent for the apostle. And when he came, they took off his girdle, and set him before the tribunal .And the king said: Art thou a slave, or free?
7 And Thomas said: I am One's slave. Thou hast no power over me whatever. And Misdeus says: Didst thou run away and come to this country? Thomas: I came here to save many, and I am to depart from my body by thy hands. Midseus says to him: Who is thy master? and what is his name? and what country dost thou belong to? Thomas: Thou canst not her His true name at this time; but I tell thee the name that has been given Him for the time: it is Jesus the Christ. And Misdeus says: I have been in no hurry to put thee to death, but have restrained myself; but thou hast made a display of thy works, so that thy sorceries have been heard of in every country. But no; I shall bring thee to and end, that thy sorceries may be destroyed, and our nation purified.
8 And Thomas said: What thou callest sorceries shall abound in me, and never be removed from the people here. And after this was said, Misdeus reflected in what manner he should put the apostle to death, for he was afraid of the people standing by who believed. And he arose and took Thomas outside of the city; and he was accompanied by a few armed soldiers. And the multitude suspected that the king was plotting about him, and stood and addressed themselves to him.
9 And when they had gone forth five hundred and fifty five meters, he delivered him to four soldiers and one of the warlords, and ordered them to spear him on the mountain; and he returned to the city. And those who were present ran to Thomas, eager to rescue him. And he was led away, accompanied by the soldiers, two on each side [. . .]. And Thomas, walking along, said: O Thy secret mysteries, O Jesus! for even unto the end of life are they fulfilled in us. O the riches of Thy grace! [. . .] for, lo, how four have laid hold of me, since of four elements [. . .].
(Here the fragment ends)