by Geza Vermes
for ever and ever,
[and hast ordained from eternity]
their visitation for reward and chastisements;
Thou hast allotted it to all their seed
for eternal generations and everlasting years...
In the wisdom of Thy knowledge
Thou didst establish their destiny before ever they were.
All things [exist] according to [Thy will]
and without Thee nothing is done.
These things I know
by the wisdom which comes from Thee,
for Thou hast unstopped my ears
to marvellous mysteries.
And yet I, a shape of clay
kneaded in water,
a ground of shame
and a source of pollution,
a melting-pot of wickedness
and an edifice of sin,
a straying and perverted spirit
of no understanding,
fearful of righteous judgements,
what can I say that is not foreknown,
and what can I utter that is not foretold?
All things are graven before Thee
on a written Reminder
for everlasting ages,
and for the numbered cycles
of the eternal years
in all their seasons;
they are not hidden or absent from Thee.
What shall a man say
concerning his sin?
And how shall he plead
concerning his iniquities?
And how shall he reply
to righteous judgement?
For Thine, O God of knowledge,
are all righteous deeds
and the counsel of truth;
but to the sons of men is the work of iniquity
and deeds of deceit.
It is Thou who hast created breath for the tongue
and Thou knowest its words;
Thou didst establish the fruit of the lips
before ever they were.
Thou dost set words to measure
and the flow of breath from the lips to metre.
Thou bringest forth sounds
according to their mysteries,
and the flow of breath from the lips
according to its reckoning,
that they may tell of Thy glory
and recount Thy wonders
in all Thy works of truth
and [in all Thy] righteous [judgements];
and that Thy Name be praised
by the mouth of all men,
and that they may know Thee
according to their understanding
and bless Thee for ever.
By Thy mercies and by Thy great goodness,
Thou hast strengthened the spirit of man
in the face of the scourge,
and hast purified [the erring spirit]
of a multitude of sins,
that it may declare Thy marvels
in the presence of all Thy creatures.
[I will declare to the assembly of the simple]
the judgements by which I was scourged,
and to the sons of men, all Thy wonders
by which Thou hast shown Thyself mighty [in me
in the presence of the sons of Adam].
Hear, O you wise men, and meditate on knowledge;
O you fearful, be steadfast!
Increase in prudence, [O all you simple];
O just men, put away iniquity!
Hold fast [to the Covenant],
O all you perfect of way;
[O all you afflicted with] misery,
be patient and despise no righteous judgement!
[but the foo]lish of heart
shall not comprehend these things
X (formerly II)
Upon my [uncircumcised] lips
Thou hast laid a reply.
Thou hast upheld my soul,
strengthening my loins and restoring my power;
my foot has stood in the realm of ungodliness.
I have been a snare to those who rebel,
but healing to those of them who repent,
prudence to the simple,
and steadfastness to the fearful of heart.
To traitors Thou hast made of me
a mockery and scorn,
but a counsel of truth and understanding
to the upright of way.
I have been iniquity for the wicked,
ill-repute on the lips of the fierce,
the scoffers have gnashed their teeth.
I have been a byword to traitors,
the assembly of the wicked has raged against me;
they have roared like turbulent seas
and their towering waves have spat out mud and slime.
But to the elect of righteousness
Thou hast made me a banner,
and a discerning interpreter of wonderful mysteries,
to try [those who practise] truth
and to test those who love correction.
To the interpreters of error I have been an opponent,
[but a man of peace] to all those who see true things.
To all those who seek smooth things
I have been a spirit of zeal;
like the sound of the roaring of many waters
so have [all] the deceivers thundered against me;
[all] their thoughts were devilish [schemings].
They have cast towards the Pit the life of the man
whose mouth Thou hast confirmed,
and into whose heart
Thou hast put teaching and understanding,
that he might open a fountain of knowledge
to all men of insight.
They have exchanged them for lips of uncircumcision,
and for the foreign tongue
of a people without understanding,
that they might come to ruin in their straying.
Hymn 7 (formerly 2)
I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast placed my soul
in the bundle of the living,
and hast hedged me about
against all the snares of the Pit.
Violent men have sought after my life
because I have clung to Thy Covenant.
For they, an assembly of deceit,
and a horde of Belial,
know not that my stand
is maintained by Thee,
and that in Thy mercy Thou wilt save my soul
since my steps proceed from Thee.
From Thee it is
that they assail my life,
that Thou mayest be glorified
by the judgement of the wicked,
and manifest Thy might through me
in the presence of the sons of men;
for it is by Thy mercy that I stand.
And I said, Mighty men
have pitched their camps against me,
and have encompassed me
with all their weapons of war.
They have let fly arrows
against which there is no cure,
and the flame of (their) javelins
is like a consuming fire among trees.
The clamour of their shouting
is like the bellowing of many waters,
like a storm of destruction
devouring a multitude of men;
as their waves rear up,
Naught and Vanity spout upward to the stars.
But although my heart melted like water,
my soul held fast to Thy Covenant,
and the net which they spread for me
has taken their own foot;
they have themselves fallen
into the snares which they laid for my life.
But my foot remains upon level ground;
apart from their assembly I will bless Thy Name.
Hymn 8 (formerly 3)
I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast [fastened] Thine e
ye upon me.
Thou hast saved me from the zeal
of lying interpreters,
and from the congregation of those
who seek smooth things.
Thou hast redeemed the soul of the poor one
whom they planned to destroy
by spilling his blood because he served Thee.
Because [they knew not]
that my steps were directed by Thee,
they made me an object of shame and derision
in the mouth of all the seekers of falsehood.
But Thou, O my God, hast succoured
the soul of the poor and the needy
against one stronger than he;
Thou hast redeemed my soul
from the hand of the mighty.
Thou hast not permitted their insults to dismay me
so that I forsook Thy service
for fear of the wickedness of the [ungodly],
or bartered my steadfast heart for folly
Hymn 9(formerly 4)
XI (formerly III)
They caused [me] to be
like a ship on the deeps of the [sea],
and like a fortified city
before [the aggressor],
[and] like a woman in travail
with her first-born child,
upon whose belly pangs have come
and grievous pains,
filling with anguish her child-bearing crucible.
For the children have come to the throes of Death,
and she labours in her pains who bears a man.
For amid the throes of Death
she shall bring forth a man-child,
and amid the pains of Hell
there shall spring from her child-bearing crucible
a Marvellous Mighty Counsellor;
and a man shall be delivered from out of the throes.
When he is conceived
all wombs shall quicken,
and the time of their delivery
shall be in grievous pains;
they shall be appalled
who are with child.
And when he is brought forth
every pang shall come upon the child-bearing crucible.
And they, the conceivers of Vanity,
shall be prey to terrible anguish;
the wombs of the Pit
shall be prey to all the works of horror.
The foundations of the wall shall rock
like a ship upon the face of the waters;
the heavens shall roar
with a noise of roaring,
and those who dwell in the dust,
as well as those who sail the seas,
shall be appalled by the roaring of the waters.
All their wise men
shall be like sailors on the deeps,
for all their wisdom shall be swallowed up
in the midst of the howling seas.
As the Abysses boil
above the fountains of the waters,
the towering waves and billows shall rage
with the voice of their roaring;
and as they rage,
[Hell and Abaddon] shall open
[and all] the flying arrows of the Pit
shall send out their voice to the Abyss.
And the gates [of Hell] shall open
[on all] the works of Vanity;
and the doors of the Pit shall close
on the conceivers of wickedness;
and the everlasting bars shall be bolted
on all the spirits of Naught.
Hymn 10 (formerly 5)
I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast redeemed my soul from the Pit,
and from the hell of Abaddon
Thou hast raised me up to everlasting height.
I walk on limitless level ground,
and I know there is hope for him
whom Thou hast shaped from dust
for the everlasting Council.
Thou hast cleansed a perverse spirit of great sin
that it may stand with the host of the Holy Ones,
and that it may enter into community
with the congregation of the Sons of Heaven.
Thou hast allotted to man an everlasting destiny
amidst the spirits of knowledge,
that he may praise Thy Name in a common rejoicing
and recount Thy marvels before all Thy works.
And yet I, a creature of clay,
what am I?
Kneaded with water,
what is my worth and my might?
For I have stood in the realm of wickedness
and my lot was with the damned;
the soul of the poor one was carried away
in the midst of great tribulation.
Miseries of torment dogged my steps
while all the snares of the Pit were opened
and the lures of wickedness were set up
and the nets of the damned (were spread) on the waters;
while all the arrows of the Pit
flew out without cease,
and, striking, left no hope;
while the rope beat down in judgement
and a destiny of wrath (fell) upon the abandoned
and a venting of fury upon the cunning.
It was a time of the wrath of all Belial
and the bonds of death tightened without any escape.
The torrents of Belial shall reach
to all sides of the world.
In all their channels
a consuming fire shall destroy
every tree, green and barren, on their banks;
unto the end of their courses
it shall scourge with flames of fire,
and shall consume the foundations of the earth
and the expanse of dry land.
The bases of the mountains shall blaze
and the roots of the rocks shall turn
to torrents of pitch;
it shall devour as far as the great Abyss.
The torrents of Belial shall break into Abaddon,
and the deeps of the Abyss shall groan
amid the roar of heaving mud.
The land shall cry out because of the calamity
fallen upon the world,
and all its deeps shall howl.
And all those upon it shall rave
and shall perish amid the great misfortune.
For God shall sound His mighty voice,
and His holy abode shall thunder
with the truth of His glory.
The heavenly hosts shall cry out
and the world’s foundations
shall stagger and sway.
The war of the heavenly warriors shall scourge the earth;
and it shall not end before the appointed destruction
which shall be for ever and without compare.
Hymn 11 (formerly 6)
I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou art as a fortified wall to me,
and as an iron bar against all destroyers
Thou hast set my feet upon rock...
that I may walk in the way of eternity
and in the paths which Thou hast chosen
XII (formerly IV)
Hymn 12 (formerly 7)
I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast illumined my face by Thy Covenant,
I seek Thee,
and sure as the dawn
Thou appearest as [perfect Light] to me.
Teachers of lies [have smoothed] Thy people [with words],
and [false prophets] have led them astray;
they perish without understanding
for their works are in folly.
For I am despised by them
and they have no esteem for me
that Thou mayest manifest Thy might through me.
They have banished me from my land like a bird from its nest;
all my friends and brethren are driven far from me
&n
bsp; and hold me for a broken vessel.
And they, teachers of lies and seers of falsehood,
have schemed against me a devilish scheme,
to exchange the Law engraved on my heart by Thee
for the smooth things (which they speak) to Thy people.
And they withhold from the thirsty the drink of Knowledge,
and assuage their thirst with vinegar,
that they may gaze on their straying,
on their folly concerning their feast-days,
on their fall into their snares.
But Thou, O God,
dost despise all Belial’s designs;
it is Thy purpose that shall be done
and the design of Thy heart
that shall be established for ever.
As for them, they dissemble,
they plan devilish schemes.
They seek Thee with a double heart
and are not confirmed in Thy truth
A root bearing poisoned and bitter fruit
is in their designs;
they walk in stubbornness of heart
and seek Thee among idols,
and they set before themselves
the stumbling-block of their sin.
They come to inquire of Thee
from the mouth of lying prophets deceived by error
who speak [with strange] lips to Thy people,
and an alien tongue,
that they may cunningly turn
all their works to folly.
For [they hearken] not [to] Thy [voice],
nor do they give ear to Thy word;
of the vision of knowledge they say, ‘It is unsure’,
and of the way of Thy heart, ‘It is not (the way)’.
But Thou, O God, wilt reply to them,
chastising them in Thy might
because of their idols
and because of the multitude of their sins,
that they who have turned aside from Thy Covenant
