by Geza Vermes
for the season of Jubilee.
All my life the engraved Precept shall be on my tongue
as the fruit of praise
and the portion of my lips.
I will sing with knowledge and all my music
shall be for the glory of God.
(My) lyre (and) my harp shall sound
for His holy order
and I will tune the pipe of my lips
to His right measure.
With the coming of day and night
I will enter the Covenant of God,
and when evening and morning depart
I will recite His decrees.
I will place in them my bounds without return.
I will declare His judgement concerning my sins,
and my transgressions shall be before my eyes
as an engraved Precept.
I will say to God, ‘My Righteousness’
and ‘Author of my Goodness’ to the Most High,
‘Fountain of Knowledge’ and ‘Source of Holiness’,
‘Summit of Glory’ and ‘Almighty Eternal Majesty’.
I will choose that which He teaches me
and will delight in His judgement of me.
Before I move my hands and feet
I will bless His Name.
I will praise Him before I go out or enter,
or sit or rise,
and whilst I lie on the couch of my bed.
I will bless Him with the offering
of that which proceeds from my lips
from the midst of the ranks of men,
and before I lift my hands to eat
of the pleasant fruits of the earth.
I will bless Him for His exceeding wonderful deeds
at the beginning of fear and dread
and in the abode of distress and desolation.
I will meditate on His power
and will lean on His mercies all day long.
I know that judgement of all the living
is in His hand,
and that all His deeds are truth.
I will praise Him when distress is unleashed
and will magnify Him also because of His salvation.
I will pay to no man the reward of evil;
I will pursue him with goodness.
For judgement of all the living is with God
and it is He who will render to man his reward.
I will not envy in a spirit of wickedness,
my soul shall not desire the riches of violence.
I will not grapple with the men of perdition
until the Day of Revenge,
but my wrath shall not turn from the men of falsehood
and I will not rejoice until judgement is made.
I will bear no rancour
against them that turn from transgression,
but will have no pity
on all who depart from the way.
I will offer no comfort to the smitten
until their way becomes perfect.
I will not keep Belial within my heart,
and in my mouth shall be heard
no folly or sinful deceit,
no cunning or lies shall be found on my lips.
The fruit of holiness shall be on my tongue
and no abominations shall be found upon it.
I will open my mouth
in songs of thanksgiving,
and my tongue shall always proclaim
the goodness of God and the sin of men
until their transgression ends.
I will cause vanities
to cease from my lips,
uncleanness and crookedness
from the knowledge of my heart.
I will impart/conceal knowledge with discretion
and will prudently hedge it within a firm bound
to preserve faith and strong judgement
in accordance with the justice of God.
I will distribute the Precept
by the measuring-cord of the times,
and ... righteousness
and loving-kindness towards the oppressed,
encouragement to the troubled heart
XI and discernment to the erring spirit,
teaching understanding to them that murmur
that they may answer meekly
before the haughty of spirit
and humbly before men of injustice
who point the finger and speak of iniquity
and who are zealous for wealth.
As for me,
my justification is with God.
In His hand are the perfection of my way
and the uprightness of my heart.
He will wipe out my transgression
through His righteousness.
For my light has sprung
from the source of His knowledge;
my eyes have beheld His marvellous deeds,
and the light of my heart, the mystery to come.
He that is everlasting
is the support of my right hand;
the way of my steps is over stout rock
which nothing shall shake;
for the rock of my steps is the truth of God
and His might is the support of my right hand.
From the source of His righteousness
is my justification,
and from His marvellous mysteries
is the light in my heart.
My eyes have gazed
on that which is eternal,
on wisdom concealed from men,
on knowledge and wise design
(hidden) from the sons of men;
on a fountain of righteousness
and on a storehouse of power,
on a spring of glory
(hidden) from the assembly of flesh.
God has given them to His chosen ones
as an everlasting possession,
and has caused them to inherit
the lot of the Holy Ones.
He has joined their assembly
to the Sons of Heaven
to be a Council of the Community,
a foundation of the Building of Holiness,
and eternal Plantation throughout all ages to come.
As for me,
I belong to wicked mankind,
to the company of unjust flesh.
My iniquities, rebellions, and sins,
together with the perversity of my heart,
belong to the company of worms
and to those who walk in darkness.
For mankind has no way,
and man is unable to establish his steps
since justification is with God
and perfection of way is out of His hand.
All things come to pass by His knowledge;
He establishes all things by His design
and without Him nothing is done.
As for me,
if I stumble, the mercies of God
shall be my eternal salvation.
If I stagger because of the sin of flesh,
my justification shall be
by the righteousness of God which endures for ever.
When my distress is unleashed
He will deliver my soul from the Pit
and will direct my steps to the way.
He will draw me near by His grace,
and by His mercy will He bring my justification.
He will judge me in the righteousness of His truth
and in the greatness of His goodness
He will pardon all my sins.
Through His righteousness he will cleanse me
of the uncleanness of man
and of the sins of the children of men,
that I may confess to God His righteousness,
and His majesty to the Most High.
Blessed art Thou, my God,
who openest the heart of Thy servant to knowledge!
Establish all his deeds in righteousness,
and as it pleases
Thee to do for the elect of mankind,
grant that the son of Thy handmaid
may stand before Thee for ever.
For without Thee no way is perfect,
and without Thy will nothing is done.
It is Thou who hast taught all knowledge
and all things come to pass by Thy will.
There is none beside Thee to dispute Thy counsel
or to understand all Thy holy design,
or to contemplate the depth of Thy mysteries
and the power of Thy might.
Who can endure Thy glory,
and what is the son of man
in the midst of Thy wonderful deeds?
What shall one born of woman
be accounted before Thee?
Kneaded from the dust,
his abode is the nourishment of worms.
He is but a shape, but moulded clay,
and inclines towards dust.
What shall hand-moulded clay reply?
What counsel shall it understand?
Community Rule manuscripts from Cave 4
4QSd=4Q258
This‘is the best preserved of the ten 4QS manuscripts. Seven columns of the text have survived, five of them containing full-length lines. Column 1, with a wide margin on the right, is almost certainly the beginning of the Scroll. It corresponds to 1QS v, 1. The last identifiable passage represents 1QS XI, 7. The word ‘God’ (‘el) is written twice with palaeo-Hebrew letters (at 1QS IX, 25 and x, 9). Columns I and II of Sd (1QS v, I-VI, 7) provide a shorter and smoother version of the Rule than 1QS. The more fragmentary 4QSb (=4Q256) supports the present version on the essential points. The most significant peculiarities of 4QSd (=4Q258) are the almost complete absence of the ‘full’ spelling characteristic of the Qumran sectarian manuscripts, the different opening line and a repeated failure to mention ‘the Priests, the Sons of Zadok’. For both its occurrences in 1QS, 4QSd (and 4QSb) read ‘the Congregation’ (ha-rabbim), an alternative reading likely to possess important historical implications.
For the editio princeps, see P. S. Alexander and G. Vermes, DJD, XXVI, 83-128. See also G. Vermes, ‘The Leadership of the Qumran Community: Sons of Zadok - Priests - Congregation’, in the Martin Hengel Festschrift Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion, ed. P. Schäfer (Tübingen, 1996), 375-84.
I (=1QS v, I-20) Teaching for the Master concerning the men of the Law (or: the Master who is the superior of the men of the Law) who have freely pledged themselves to convert from all evil and hold fast to all that He has commanded. And they shall separate from the congregation of the men of injustice and shall unite with respect to doctrine and property, and they shall be under the authority of the Congregation concerning all matters of doctrine and property. They shall practise humility and righteousness and justice and loving-[kindness] and modesty in all their ways. And no man shall walk in the stubbornness of his heart so as to stray. He is rather to lay [a foundation] of truth for Israel for the Community, for all those who have freely pledged themselves to Holiness in Aaron and to a House of Truth in Israel and for those who jo[in th]em for a Community. Whoever enters the Council [of the Commu]nity shall undertake by binding (oath) to [return t]o the Law of Moses with all (his) heart and soul, to all that has been revealed from the L[aw].
[And whoever enters] the Council of the me[n] of the Communi[ty shall separate from all the men] of injustice... He shall not touch the purity of the men [of holine]ss and shall not eat with (them) [in community. And no] one of the men of the Community [shall follow] their decision in any [doctrine] and judgement. And ... of work. No one from the men of holiness shall eat ... [And] they shall not lean upon [work]s of vanity, for they are all vanity who [do not know His Covenant and all who despis]e His word He will blot them out from the world. All their deeds are defileme[nt] be[fore Him and al]l [their property unclean.] ... Gentiles(?) and they pronounce oaths and execrations and vows. [But when a man enters the Covenant according to all these precepts, that he may be joined to the h]oly [Congregation,] they [shall examine their spirit in community,] am[ong themselves] con[cerning their understanding] II (1QS v, 21-VI, 7) and their practice of the Law under the authority of the sons of Aaron who have freely pledged themselves to restore His Covenant and heed to all the precepts commanded by Him to be practised by the multitude of Israel who have freely pledged themselves to return in common. They shall be inscribed in the order, one after another, each according to his understanding and his deeds in the Law, that all may obey one another, the man of lesser rank the greater. And they shall examine their spirit and their deeds in the Law yearly so that each man may be advanced in accordance with [his] un[derstanding] or moved down in accordance with his aberrations. They shall rebuke one another (in) loving-kindness. Let no man address his companion with anger or ill-temper or wicked envy. Also let no man accuse his companion before the Congregation without having rebuked him before witnesses. These are the ways in which all of them shall walk, each man with his companion, wherever they dwell. [The man of lesser rank] shall ob[ey] the greater in matters of work and pro[perty. And they shall e]at [in common] and bless in common and delibera[te] in common. [And wherever there are ten] III (1QS VI, 7-10) men of [the Council of the Community, there shall not lack] a pri[est from a]mong them. [And] they [shall sit, each m]an according to his rank, [before him and shall be asked their counsel in all things in that order.] And when [the table has been prepared for eating or the n]ew wine [for drinking, the] priest shall [be first to stretch out his hand to bless the firstfruit of the bread] and of the wine. [And where the ten are, there shall never lack a man among them who shall study the Law day and night. And the Congregation shall w]atch [for one third of every night of the year, to read the Book] IV ... V (IS VII, 13) ... [and whoever draws] his hand from be[neath his garment] ... VI (1QS VIII, 6-21) ... [and] to pay to the wicked [their reward. It shall be a tried wall, that precious corner-stone whose foundations shall not rock nor sway from] their [pl]ace; (it shall be) a most holy dwelling-place [for Aaron, with the knowledge of them all of a covenant of justice and of the offering of fragrance; (it shall be) a house of perfection and truth for Israe]l to establish a covenant according to the everlasting precepts.
[They shall be an acceptance to atone for the land and to determine the judgement of wickedness with no injustice (any more). When these have been confirmed in the fou]ndation of the Community for two years, [in perfection of way, they shall be separated as holy within the council of the men] of the Communi[ty. And anything hidden from Is]rael but discovered by the man [who interprets, he shall not conceal it from them for fear of the spirit of apostasy.] And when these become (part of) the Community/in Israel, they shall separate fr[om the midst of the habitation] of the men [of injustice to go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of HIM (or: {the truth} (4Q259). This is the study of the La]w which He has commanded by the ha[nd of Moses, to pra]ctise all [that has been revealed from age to age, and as the prophets have revealed by His holy spirit. And no ma]n from the men of the covenant of the [Community who turns aside from any commandment deliberately shall touch the purity of the men of holiness, nor shall he know any of their counsel until his deeds are purified from all injustice so that he walks in perfection of way. And they shall admit him to the council by the decision of the Congregation and afterwards he shall be inscribed in his rank. And this rule (shall apply) to everyone who attaches himself] to the Community. [And these are the rules which the men of holiness shall follow, one regarding another.] Everyone who [enters the council of the Community] ... VII (1QS VII, 24-IX, 10, 15) ... they shall exclude him from purity and from council and from judgement for tw[o year]s and he shall return to study and to council if he has not committed again a sin by inadvertence for two full years. For one sin of inadvertence he shall do penance for two years, and for a deliberately committed sin he shall return no more. But he shall be tried for two [y]ears concerning the perfection of his way and for his counsel according to the decision of the Congre
gation and he shall be inscribed in his rank in the Community of holiness. [When] these [become part] of the Community in Israel according to these rules, they shall [es]tablish the spirit of holiness as eternal truth. They shall atone for guilty rebellion [and the sin of unfaithful]ness and shall gain (divine) acceptance for the lan[d without the flesh] of holocausts and the fat of sacrifices and offerings. And the cor[r]ect free-will gift of the lips shall be like a fragrance [of righteousness and the perfection] of the way like the free-will offerin[g of a]greeable [tribute]. And at that time they shall separate a house of Aaron for holiness for all [ ] of God [and a house of Community for Is]rael who walk in perfe[ction. Only the sons of Aa]ron [shall comm]a[nd in matters of ju]stice and property. And the property [of the men of holiness who wa]lk in perfection, let [their property] not be mer[ged with] the property [of the men of falsehood] who have not confir[med their way to separate from all] e[vil things] so as to walk in [the way of perfection. Let them not depart from any counsel of the Law] and they shall be judged by the [primitive precepts in which the men of the Community began to be instructed. He shall perform the judgement of every man according to his spirit and he shall admit him according to the cleanness of his hands] VIII (1QS IX, 15-x, 3) and shall advance him according to his understanding, and so shall be his love and his hatred. Furthermore he shall not rebuke a man and shall not dispute with the men of the pit. He shall conceal his counsel among the men of injustice, but he shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgement to those who have chosen the way, to each according to his spirit and according to the rule of the age, [guiding the]m with knowledge. And thus shall he instruct them in the mysteries of marvel and truth among the men of the Community that they may walk in perfection each man with [his fellow in all that has been] revealed to them. This is the time for the preparation of the way into the wilderness. He shall instruct them in all that is to be done in that time.
[And he shall separate] from every man who has not turned away from all injustice. And these are the rules of conduct for the Master in [those] ti[mes] [with respect to his loving and] hating. Everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in a spirit of secrecy. He shall leave to them property and gain [and the earnings of toil like a slave to] his [lo]rd and the poor man to his master. Each shall be zealous for the precept and his time shall become a day [of revenge.] He shall [perform the will (of God) in all his actions and in al]l his dominion a[s He has commanded. And a]ll that befalls him, he shall enjoy as a free gift and without the will [of GOD] [he shall not enjoy (anything). He shall delight in all the words of His mouth and shall desire nothing that He has] n[ot commanded. And] he shall watch al[ways for the judgemen]t of GOD [ ] and he shall bless his Maker and in all that befalls he shall declare [ ] and with the offering of the lips he shall bless Him at [the times which He has decreed. At the beginning of the dominion of light a]nd the c[ompletion of its circuit when it ret]ires to [its] appointed dwelling at the beginning [of the watches of darkness. When He opens its storehouse and spreads it out and at the completion of its circuit when it retires bef]ore the light. When [the heavenly lights] shine out [from the a]bode [of His holiness together with their withdrawal to the dwelling of glory. At the entry of seasons according to the new moon as well as their completion of their circuit when one succeeds to the other]; IX (1QS x, 4-12) at their renewal there is a great day for the Holy of Holies and a sign for the opening of the everlasting mercies at the beginning of the seasons for all ages to come. At the beginning of the months for their seasons and on the holy days according to their rules for remembrance in [their] seasons, I will bless Him [with the offering of the l]ips according to the precept [en]graved for ever. At the beginning of the years and at the completion of the circ[uit of their seasons, when they ful]fil their determined precept on the day decreed for one to follow another, the seas[on of early harvest the summer, and the season of so]wing the season of grass, the seasons of the ye[ar]s thei[r] weeks [and at the beginning of] their weeks the seasons of jubilee. And during all my existence the [en]graved precept shall be on [my tongue as a fruit] of praise and a po[rtion] of my lips. I will sin[g] with knowledge and all my music is for the glory of GOD. [And I will] strike my lyre to the order [of His holiness and the pipe of my lips I will] tune to [His r]ight measure. [At the coming] of the day [and the n]ight I will enter the covenant [of GOD and at the departure of evening and morning I will recite His precepts. And in them will I re-establish [my boundaries without return. I will declare His judgement correct concerning] my [trans]gression [and] my [rebel]lion shall be before my eyes [as an engraved precept. And I say to GOD, ‘My righteousness’ and to the Most High, ‘A]uthor of my goodness’, ‘Fountain of Knowledge’ and ‘Source of Holiness’, ‘Summit of Glory’ and ‘Almighty Eternal Majesty’. I will choose] X (1QS x, 12-18) that which He teaches [me and I will delight in His judgement of me. Before I move my hands] and feet I will bless [His name and before I lift my hand to grow fat from] the pleasant pro[duce of the world. At the beginning of fear and dread and in the abode of distress] a[nd desolation, I will confess (His) marvel and I will meditate on His might and on His mercies] I will lea[n all day long. I know that in His hand is the judgement of all the living and all His deeds are truth.] When [distress] sta[rts I will praise Him and I will exalt Him for His salvation. And I will not pay] an [evil] reward [to a man; I will pursue him with goodness. For the judgement of all the living is with GOD, and He] will repay [man his reward ... ] XI ... XII (1QS XI, 7) ... [and He has caused] them [to inher]it the l[ot of the Holy Ones] ... XIII (1QS XI, 14-15) ... [He will a]tone [for all] my sins. [Through His righteousness He will cleanse me of the uncleanness of man and from the sins of the child]ren of m[en that I may confess to God] His righ[teousness] ...
