Thanksgiving Hymns (Hodayot)<\/p>\n
Angela Kim Harkins<\/p>\n
The Thanksgiving Hymns scroll (1QH) from Cave 1 was one of the first scrolls to be discovered at Qumran. It is a sizable scroll containing anywhere from 28 to 34 individual compositions. The scroll takes its name, Thanksgiving Hymns (Hebrew Hodayot, and hereafter Hymns), from the formula that opens a significant number of the hymns: \u201cI give thanks to you, O LORD.\u201d With 41 to 42 lines per column, this Cave 1 scroll is among the few nonbiblical scrolls copied with a large writing block and with generous margins. The careful manuscript preparation and the multiple copies of the text among the scrolls at Qumran suggest that this collection enjoyed some authority in the Qumran community.<\/p>\n
History and Shape of the Text<\/p>\n
Eliezer Sukenik\u2019s early description of the scroll revealed many important details. He found it in two separate clumps. The first consisted of several parchment sheets not rolled up in the tidy manner expected for a scroll but rather as folded-up sheets with one sheet compressed and indiscriminately inserted into the folds of another. The second bundle contained many crumpled fragments of varying size.
\nIn an effort to make this scroll accessible to scholars as soon as possible, Sukenik\u2019s early publication of the Hymns was strictly a material look that began with the largest, most complete sheets and ended with the smallest fragments. This order was then followed by other scholars, even though it was obvious that this reconstruction was inaccurate. There are at least two scribal hands in this scroll, with a third hand that was responsible for some editing changes. There is a clear shift in scribal hands at 19:25, which means that the sheets and fragments can easily be sorted accordingly. Even though Sukenik\u2019s edition did not sort the sheets and fragments according to the scribal hands, the popular ordering of this edition remains the most recognizable ordering of 1QH. It would be more than 60 years from the time of its discovery before a complete critical edition of the reconstructed scroll was to be made.
\nToday scholars agree generally upon a reconstruction of 1QH based on a careful study of the physical signs of damage in the parchment and the location of its nearly 70 fragments, first achieved by Hartmut Stegemann in his unpublished 1963 dissertation. This reconstruction became the basis for the new critical edition, and it differs from Sukenik\u2019s numbering system by roughly nine columns and a few line numbers.
\nGiven the complex history of the material reconstruction of 1QH, few scholars have had sufficient familiarity with the technical aspects of the scroll and the scribal practices within it to synthesize its literary elements with its physical features. Many propose various systems of dividing the compositions within the scroll, but no other scholar contributed as much to the understanding of the scroll and its unit divisions as did Stegemann. His reconstruction and his numbering system are followed here.
\nToday scholars commonly see 1QH as a tripartite collection: (1) Community Hymns I, (2) Teacher Hymns, and (3) Community Hymns II. Community Hymns I spans the first two sheets of parchment and consists of the first eight columns. It is characterized by a condensed system of spelling, which is unusual for the scroll as a whole. While two different scribal hands copied the Teacher Hymns, the orthographic system in this collection generally resembles that of the Community Hymns II. Although it is inconsistently followed, there is a preference for expanded spelling in these two groups. In addition to orthography, other literary elements, such as the theme of communion with angels, are shared by these two collections.
\nLike many before him, Stegemann noted various distinctive scribal procedures within the group traditionally called the Teacher Hymns (10:5\u201317:36). The 13 compositions here consistently avoid the introductory phrases \u201cblessed are you\u201d and \u201cfor (the) instructor\u201d (lemaskil), whereas both of these appear with some regularity in the two groups of Community Hymns. Instead, the Teacher Hymns regularly begin with the phrase \u201cI give thanks to you, O LORD,\u201d although there is one exception in 13:22, where an editor replaced it with \u201cblessed are you.\u201d The distinct formal unity found in the Teacher Hymns is not so in the case of the two groups of Community Hymns.
\nThe Hymns is attested in as many as eight different manuscripts. In addition to the large scroll from Cave 1, at least one other manuscript has been identified from the same cave (1Q35). The publication of six manuscripts from Cave 4 (4Q427\u20134Q432) in the late 1990s contributed greatly to the scholarly understanding of these texts, which was based previously on the Cave 1 manuscript alone. The Cave 4 manuscripts provided comparative data for the reconstruction of poorly preserved or missing portions of 1QH and for the study of the order and arrangement of the collection. The data suggest that there was relative stability to the wording of individual compositions but variation among the arrangement of the collections. The multiple attestation of this collection and the careful copying and editing of the 1QH scroll suggest that this collection of texts was important among the members of the Qumran community.<\/p>\n
Authorship<\/p>\n
In his earliest publications on this scroll, Sukenik wondered if these texts should be associated with the Teacher of Righteousness known from 1QpHab and the Damascus Document, because of the vivid accounts and strong claims of inspiration found in them. He hypothesized that the scroll was a unified collection of personal meditations authored by a single individual, the Teacher of Righteousness himself. This would make the scroll a literary and not a liturgical collection. Many early scrolls scholars, motivated by the desire to reconstruct the life and practices of this Judean community, looked with expectation to this scroll for details about the founding of the Qumran community, insofar as they could be known from the faint historical references in the Hymns scroll. Sukenik\u2019s hypothesis was supported by the sharp and intense experiences referenced in these hymns. One of the most important psalms for those who favor the Teacher Hypothesis is found in 12:6\u201313:6, where the speaker describes how he was driven into exile by his opponents. Other psalms presume that the speaker is being persecuted or mocked by opponents (10:5\u201321; 10:22\u201332; 10:33\u201311:5; 15:9\u201328), with one interesting psalm describing a scenario in which the speaker has been rejected by his own community (13:22\u201315:8).
\nWhile many of Sukenik\u2019s views have had long-lasting influence, scholars disagree most with his early assessment of the authorial unity of the scroll. One who strongly disagreed with Sukenik\u2019s Teacher Hypothesis and the single authorship was Svend Holm-Nielsen, who studied the scroll in light of the biblical Psalter. He concluded that the scroll, like the book of Psalms, was authored by multiple people and likely used in a liturgical context.
\nWhile Sukenik\u2019s views on the unity of the scroll were abandoned early on, his Teacher Hypothesis has had an enduring influence. Scholars in the early generation went on to refine his hypothesis by demonstrating on literary grounds how at least one group of hymns, today known as the Teacher Hymns in 10:5\u201317:36, could be distinguished from the rest of the scroll. Sukenik\u2019s hypothesis that the Teacher of Righteousness authored the texts of 1QH was not the consensus view in neither his day nor today, but the association of the scroll, in particular the central Teacher Hymns portion, with the figure known from 1QpHab and CD continues to loom large in the imagination of many. While some scholars continue to accept the authorship of at least some of the compositions from the scroll as that of the putative founder of the Qumran community, the Teacher of Righteousness, serious challenges to the Teacher Hypothesis have been voiced in recent years.
\nRecent study of the non-Teacher Hymns emphasizes their significant diversity. Furthermore, the publication of the Cave 4 manuscripts brings to light copies of the Community Hymns that show strong possibilities as liturgical collections (esp. 4Q427). These manuscripts provide some of the missing context for the curious first person plural forms that were noticed in 1QH but lacking context because of their extremely fragmentary form. While these Community Hymns do not replicate the arrangement of psalms in 1QH, the question of whether these psalms functioned in a liturgical capacity cannot be dismissed easily. In addition to references to music and joyful songs of praise in the scroll (e.g., 7:17\u201318; 11:23\u201324; 19:7\u20138, 17, 26\u201329), there is also mention of communion with angels (11:22\u201324; 12:25\u201326; 14:15\u201316; 19:14\u201317; 23:30) and participation in angelic worship (e.g., 11:22\u201324; 19:16), with one composition, the Self-Glorification Hymn (1QH 25:34\u201327:3), making extraordinary claims about the speaker\u2019s elevated status within the angelic assembly. More recently, Carol Newsom\u2019s rhetorical study of the scroll shows that the psalms, even those describing the intense personal experiences of the leader, could have functioned purposefully in the formation of communal identity.<\/p>\n
Significance<\/p>\n
The Hymns scroll is identified as one of the key manuscripts for the scholarly understanding of the history and theological perspectives of the community and, of course, the Teacher of Righteousness. A disproportionate number of the studies on the Hymns in the past 60 years have focused on historical questions surrounding those hymns associated with the Teacher of Righteousness, which are centrally located in 1QH 10\u201317. Much of the early interest in the scroll was fueled by the belief that they were composed by the Teacher of Righteousness, and also by the remarkably well-preserved condition of these texts (in contrast to the extremely fragmentary first and second groups of Community Hymns). Their dramatic language also made them popular for scholars\u2014quite different from the monotony and repetition of the non-Teacher compositions. The centrality of the Teacher Hymns to the popularity of 1QHa was so great that these compositions, first classified as \u201cThanksgiving Hymns\u201d on account of the speaker\u2019s use of the formula (among other reasons), gave the scroll its name. Because the most interesting part of 1QHa, the Teacher Hymns, was so well preserved, a full reconstruction of all parts of the scroll was not pursued for quite some time.
\nBecause of the fragmentary state of 1QHa, early scholars presumed that its literary features could be understood based on biblical examples of psalms and prayers. The techniques of parallelism, repetition of words, literary structures, meter, and use of opening formulas were presumed to function in the Hymns in the same way as in biblical and non-biblical poetry, but the absence of these poetic techniques was duly noted by the early generation of scholars as signs that they were free-form poetry or even very poor poet-ry. Some even describe the literary style of the hymnist as \u201cmonotonous\u201d or \u201cchaotic.\u201d In the 1980s, Bonnie Kittel proposed that a theological understanding would be greatly enriched by a careful literary analysis of the poetic maneuvers of the hymnist, and her study represents one of the first major systematic analyses of the poetic features in the Hymns. She concludes that the psalms reflect poetic techniques familiar from biblical poetry, including the repetition of key words and images and the use of other literary devices. These features proved to be important in determining the proper division between compositional units. The literary study of these texts served to enrich scholarly understanding of Hebrew poetry in antiquity by offering a great sample of compositions for comparison.
\nThe Hymns also provide important data for the study of compositional techniques in early Hebrew poetry. The scroll makes many allusions to biblical phrases and images, but contains only one direct quotation of Scripture (Ps. 26:12), in 1QHa 10:31\u201332. The scroll\u2019s use of scriptural language, creating a pastiche of familiar and recognizable references, proves to be typical of the scripturalization of prayer that appears during the Second Temple period.<\/p>\n
GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n
The Teacher Hymns collection is the most coherent section of the scroll, and readers should be able to see this easily in the regularity of the introductory formula \u201cI give thanks to you, O LORD,\u201d and the characteristic style. The speaker uses vivid images in his laments and makes extraordinary claims about his special insights. At least one Cave 4 manuscript suggests that this collection may have circulated independently at some time. There is good reason to see 1QHa 9:1\u201310:4 as an introduction to the Teacher Hymn collection and 17:38\u201319:5 as either a concluding psalm to the Teacher collection or a transitional composition to the second group of Community Hymns, which begins in 19:6. Another notable text in the scroll is a famous psalm in Community Hymns II, popularly known as the Self-Glorification Hymn (25:34\u201327:3). It has been reconstructed from Cave 4 manuscripts and is presented separately in these volumes.
\nA number of scribal peculiarities in the Hymns are worth mentioning. The beautiful scribal hand that begins the scroll abruptly ends in 19:25 and is replaced by one that is not as elegant; however, while not as aesthetically pleasing, it cannot be concluded that the scribe\u2019s work at copying was less accurate. There are three curious instances in the scroll where the paleo-Hebrew letters for \u201cGod\u201d are used (7:38; 9:26; 10:36). The relative infrequency of their appearance in the scroll as a whole suggests that the scribe was strictly copying his text, and that the words appeared as such in his exemplar. There are also two peculiar instances where the voice of the speaker shifts from the first person singular to the first person plural (5:13\u20136:29) and there is a single instance of the plural at 6:13; 7:12\u201320; 25:34\u201327:3). The scribe also made deletion marks in the text, as indicated using \u201ccurly\u201d brackets.<\/p>\n
SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n
Douglas, Michael C. \u201cThe Teacher Hymn Hypothesis Revisited.\u201d Dead Sea Discoveries 6 (1999): 239\u201366.
\nHarkins, Angela Kim. \u201cA New Proposal for Thinking about 1QHA Sixty Years after Its Discovery.\u201d Qumran Cave 1 Revisited, 131\u201334. Texts from Cave 1 Sixty Years after Their Discovery. Proceedings of the Sixth Meeting of the IOQS in Ljubljana. Edited by Daniel K. Falk, Sarianna Metso, Donald W. Parry, and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. STDJ 91. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014. Reading with an \u201cI\u201d to the Heavens: Looking at the Qumran Hodayot through the Lens of Visionary Traditions. Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages 3. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012.
\nHolm-Nielsen, Svend. Hodayot: Psalms from Qumran. Aarhus: Universitetsforlaget, 1960.
\nHughes, Julie A. Scriptural Allusions and Exegesis in the Hodayot. STDJ 59. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
\nNewsom, Carol. The Self as Symbolic Space: Constructing Identity and Community at Qumran. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
\nPuech, \u00c9mile. \u201cHodayot.\u201d Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls 1: 365\u201369. Edited by L. Schiffman and J. VanderKam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
\nSchuller, Eileen. \u201c4QHodayota-e and 4QpapHodayotf.\u201d In Qumran Cave 4.XX: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 2, 472\u201332 and 69\u2013254. Edited by Esther Chazon, et al. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 29. Oxford: Clarendon, 1999.
\nStegemann, Hartmut, with Eileen Schuller. Qumran Cave 1.III: 1QHodayota with Incorporation of 1QHodayotb and 4QHodayota-f. Translation by Carol Newsom. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 40. Oxford: Clarendon, 2008.
\nSukenik, Eliezer. The Dead Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew University. Prepared for the press by N. Avigad. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1954.<\/p>\n
TRANSLATION<\/p>\n
4:13\u201340 (17:1\u201328 + frag. 14 1\u201310)28<\/p>\n
4:13[ ] from a low measure [
\n14[ ] revealed without justic[e] from the spirit
\n15] consuming the flesh of its despisers without [ ]
\n16[ ] on dry ground and a stumbling [block w]ithout justice
\n17[ ] meeting suddenly, in an instan[t, withou]t a covenant
\n18[ ] a judgment from a spirit seeking [ ]
\n19[ ] deceitfully [ ] commandment.
\nFrom a spirit as [ ] 20[ ] with the floggings of fl[esh] [blank]<\/p>\n
21[Blessed are you, O God of knowledge
\nfor] the secrets whic[h
\nwh]ich have not overtaken them in [ ]
\n22[ ] and from the judgment of the times [of wickedness
\nth]oughts of wickedness [ many] steps
\n23[ ] and from the judgment of [ ]
\nyour servant from all his sins
\n[ and by the abundance of] your mercies,
\n24[just as] you spoke through Moses [your] servant
\nthat [you would forgive transgression], iniquity, and sin
\nand to atone fo[r iniqui]ty and faithlessness.
\n25[For] the foundations of the mountains [ ],
\nfire [burns] in Sheol below,
\nand you [ ] the [ ] by your judgments.
\n26[ ] for those who serve you in faithfulness
\n[th]at their offspring might be in your presence all day long.
\n[ ] And you have determined [ ] there,
\n27[ ] transgression
\nand casting away all [the]ir i[niquities],
\nand giving them all the glory of man (or Adam) as an inheritance [along with] long life.<\/p>\n
28[full blank line]<\/p>\n
29[Blessed are you, O God of compassi]on,
\nfor the spirits that you have put within me.
\nI want to [f]ind a reply on the tongue to declare
\nyour righteous deeds, patience, 30[abundant lovingkindne]ss,
\nand the deeds of your strong right hand.
\nAnd confessing my earlier offenses;
\nbo[wing d]own low and making supplication
\nfor 31[ ] my deeds and for the depravity of my heart.
\nFor in filth I have wallowed
\nand from the council of deceit I [have departed]
\nand I have not joined myself 32[ ]
\nfor you are righteous for your own sake,
\nand a blessing belongs to your name forev[er]
\n[ ] according to your righteousness
\nlet [ ] be ransomed 33[ and] the wicked perish.
\nI have understood that you are the one who [determines]
\nthe way of the one whom you have chosen,
\nand in the insight 34[ you] prevent him from sinning against you;
\nrestoring to him his humility with your chastisements,
\nand by [your] tria[ls] his heart.
\n35[ ] your servant from sinning against you
\nand from stumbling over all the words of your will.
\nStrengthen [ ] against the spirits of 36[wickedness
\nto] walk about in all that you love,
\nand to reject all that you hate,
\n[and to do] that which is good in your eyes.
\n37[ ] their [ ] in my bowels,
\nfor your servant is a spirit of flesh. [blank]<\/p>\n
38[Blessed are you, O God Most High
\nfor] you have stretched out the spirit of your holiness over your servant
\n[ ] purify [ ] his heart.
\n39[ mort]al and I will consider every human (Adamic) covenant
\n[ ] they shall find it 40[ ]
\nand the ones who love it [ for]ever and ever.<\/p>\n
5:12\u20136:33 (frag. 15 1a; 17; 13:1\u201314:22)<\/p>\n
5:12[A chant for the instr]uctor, to fall down befor[e God] the deeds of God.
\n13[ ] that fools might understand [ ] of eternity
\n14[ ] and that a mortal might understand [ ] flesh and the counsel of the spirit[s] they walked about.
\n15[ Blessed are] you, O LORD, [ ]
\na spirit of flesh [ ] in the power of your strength
\n16[and an abundance of] your [kind]ness with a multitude of your goodness
\n[and the cup of] your wrath and the zeal of [your] judgme[nts un]searchable.
\nAll 17[ ] all understanding and instr[uction] and the mysteries of the plan
\nand the beginning [ ] you have [de] termined
\n18[ ] holiness from e[ternity] past to forever and ever,
\nyou were [intent on ] saints 19[ ]
\nand in the mysteries of your wonder
\nyou made kno[wn to me on ac]count of your glory
\nand in the depth of [a font of] your insight,
\n[ ] has not 20[ ].
\nYou have revealed the paths of truth and the works of evil,
\nwisdom and folly [ ] righteousness
\n21[ ] their works.
\nTruth and [ ] and folly all who walk abou[t]
\n22[ ] and eternal kindnesses to all thei[r e]nds to peace,
\nbut ruin is all [ ] 23their [judg]ments,
\neternal glory and excellence and eternal joy for the work of [ ] [ ]
\n24[ ] [blank]<\/p>\n
And these are the things that [you] de[termined from eternity past]
\nby which (you) judge 25all of your creatures before you created them,
\ntogether with the host of your spirits and the assembly of [angels,
\nwi]th your holy expanse [and all] 26its hosts,
\ntogether with the earth and all that springs from it,
\nin the seas and the deeps [according to] all your designs
\nfor all the ends of time 27and the eternal visitation.
\nFor you have determined them from eternity past,
\nand also the work of [unrighteousness] [ ] in them
\nso that 28they may tell of your glory throughout all your dominion.
\nFor you have shown them that which shall not [ ] which is of old
\nand by creating 29new things,
\nbreaking down those things established from long ago
\nand [sett]ing u[p] things that will be eternally.
\nFor you de[termined] them and you will be 30forever and ever.
\nBy the mysteries of your insight
\n[you] divided all these things to make your glory known.
\n[For what is] the spirit of flesh that it might understand 31all these things?
\nand obtain insight into [ ] great?
\nAnd what is one born of woman among all [your] fearsome grand deeds?
\nHe is but 32an edifice of dust,
\nkneaded with water, sh[ame and sin]fulness is his foundation.
\nNakedness and shamefulness
\nand a sou[rce of fil]th
\nand a perverted spirit rules 33over him. [blank]
\nIf he acts wickedly, he will become [a sign for eternity]
\nand a portent to the dist[ant] generations, to flesh.
\nOnly by your goodness 34shall a man be justified,
\nand by the abundance of [your] merc[ies]
\nyou glorify him with your splendor,
\nand you make h[im r]eign [over] a multitude of delights;
\nwith eternal peace 35and long life.
\nFor [ and] your word will not depart. [blank]<\/p>\n
And I, your servant, know, 36by the spirit that you placed in me [ ]
\nthat all your works are righteous and your word will not depart.
\nAnd all 37your end times are appointed [ ord]ered according to their delights;
\nand I shall know [ ] 38and wicked [ ] to consider [ ]
\n39[ ] your [s]pirits and [ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n6:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5[ ]
\n6[ ]
\n7[ ]
\n8[ ]
\n9[ ]
\n10[ ]
\n11[ ]
\n12[ ] their testimonies [ ] in your people and it was [ ]
\n13and y[ou have opened up] our ears to [mysteries of wonder]
\nmen of truth and the elected ones of ri[ghteousness;
\nthose who see]k 14understanding and those who search for insight
\n[ those who lo]ve mercies and those who are humble of spirit,
\nthose purified by 15afflictions and those purified by the crucible [
\nwho] restrain themselves until the time of your judgments.
\n16They watch out for your salvation
\nand you [ ]
\nand you have strengthened your statutes [through them]
\nto do 17[jus]tice in the world
\nand to make an inheritance in all of [your] right[eous deeds
\nand to be in the coun]cil of holiness for eternal generations
\nand all 18[ ] of their deeds with pleasu[re]
\nthe men of your vision. [blank]<\/p>\n
19[blank] [Blessed are you], O LORD,
\nthe one who places insight in the heart of [your] serv[ant],
\n20to comp[rehend al]l of these things
\nand to carefully con[sider]
\nto restrain oneself from wanton works of wickedness,
\nand bless 21righteously all those elected by your will.
\n[to choose all tha]t you love and to despise all that 22[you hate]
\nand you confer understanding upon your servant
\n[the lots of] mortals.
\nFor according to spirits you make their (lot) fall between 23good and evil,
\nand you establish [ ] their punishment.
\nAnd I know by your insight, 24that by your favor with m[a]n
\nyou have mu[ltiplied his inheritance in the spirit of your holiness,
\nand thus you bring him near to your insight.
\nAnd in accord with 25his proximity,
\nhis zeal is against all those who perform wickedness and men of deceit.
\nFor no one who is close to you would exchange your commands,
\n26and no one who knows you would change your words.
\nFor you are righteous and all of your elect are truth!
\nAnd every injustice 27and wickedness you will destroy forever.
\nAnd your righteousness is revealed in the sight of all of your creatures. [blank]<\/p>\n
28[And] I know by the multitude of your goodness,
\nand by the oath I swore upon myself
\nnot to sin against you and 29not to do any evil in your sight.
\nAnd thus I was brought into the yahad, all the men of my council.
\nAccording to 30his understanding I will draw him near,
\nand according to the multitude of his inheritance I will love him.
\nI will not regard an evil man,
\nnor will I acknowledge a b[rib]e in wicke[d]ness;
\n31I will [not] exchange your truth for wealth,
\nnor any of your judgments for a bribe.
\nBecause if according [ ma]n, 32[then I lo]ve him,
\nand as you remove him, so too shall I abhor him. [blank]<\/p>\n
Indeed, I will not bring into the council of [your] t[ruth]
\n[any] who turn 33[from] your [co]venant. [blank]<\/p>\n
6:34\u20137:11 (14:23\u201328; frag. 19 1\u20133)<\/p>\n
6:34[I give tha]nks to you, O LORD,
\nAccording to the greatness of your strength
\nand the multitude of your wondrous deeds,
\nforever and ev[er.
\nMany are the mercies] and great are 35[the kind]nesses
\nThe one who forgives those who turn from sin,
\nbut judges the iniquity of the wicked [ ]
\nIn the free will of 36their [heart]
\nbut you hate injustice forever.
\nAnd I, your servant,
\nyou have favored me with the spirit of knowledge
\nto [choose t]ruth 37[and right]eousness
\nand to abhor every unjust way. [blank]<\/p>\n
And I love you freely and with all [my] heart [I bless] you,
\n38[ ] and by your judgment.
\nFor this thing is from your hand;
\nwithout your w[ill it will n]ot [be].
\n39[ ] Your [ ] he shall rule over [
\nbecause a mortal on]ly returns 40[to] his [dust]
\nand you establish [ ] [ ]
\n41[ ] the firmament
\nupon the wings of a spirit and he shall fall [ ]<\/p>\n
7:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5[ ]
\n6[ ]
\n7[ ]
\n8[ ]
\n9[ ]
\n10[ ]
\n11[ ]<\/p>\n
7:12\u201320 (15:1\u20137)<\/p>\n
7:12[Blessed are you, God the Most High
\nwho b[y the font of your power have conferred understanding upon us.
\n13[ and concerning the dee]ds of your won[der]
\nWhat shall we reply?
\nFor you have granted us an abun[dance of mercies to] work wonders
\n14[ ]
\nThey cannot muster the strength to know [your] glory
\n[and to rec]ount [your wonder]ous deeds.
\n15[ ] f[oreve]r
\nFor they offer praise according to their understanding
\nand according to their knowledge [of] your gl[ory]
\nbec[ause you] 16have opened [ ] without ceasing
\nfrom age to age they announce
\nand from appointed time to appointed time [they bless] 17in a voice [ ]
\nand we are gathered together in the yahad,
\nand with knowing ones we are inst[ru]cted by you
\nand we si[ng joyfully about the multitude] 18of [yo]ur mercies [ ]
\nwith your warriors
\nand wonderfully we will recount together the knowl[edge of God]
\n19in the congregation [ ]
\nand our offspring [you hav]e made known
\n[wi]th the sons of Man in the midst of the [son]s of Adam [ ]
\n20for [ ] exceedingly wondrously.<\/p>\n
7:21\u20138:41 (15:8\u201316:20)<\/p>\n
7:21Bles[sed are you God of mercies with a] song, a chant for (the) Inst[ructor
\n] a joyful song [ ] 22[
\nAnd they] shall love you all the days and I [ ]
\n23tru[th and I shall love you freely
\nwith all (my) heart and with all (my) soul
\nI am purified from iniquity [and upon] my so[ul]
\n24[I have sw]orn [no]t to turn aside from anything that you have commanded.
\nI will hold fast against the Many who are appointed for [the day of slaughter
\nwithout] 25forsaking any of your statutes. [blank]<\/p>\n
I know by your insight
\nthat it is not by flesh that a man is [able to perfect] 26his way;
\nnor is a mortal able to determine his step.
\nAnd I know that in your hand is the inclination of every spirit
\n[ and all] its [works] 27you have determined before you created it.
\nHow is it possible to change any of your words?
\nYou alone have [creat]ed 28the righteous one,
\nand from the womb you established him for the appointed time of favor
\nto heed your covenant and to walk in all things,
\nand to present him 29with the abundance of your mercies,
\nand to relieve every distress in his soul
\nfor an eternal salvation and everlasting peace without want.
\nThus you lift up 30his glory from flesh.<\/p>\n
But the wicked you created for [the in]clination of your wrath,
\nand from the womb you set them aside for the day of slaughter.
\n31Because they walked in a way that is not good
\nand they rejected your covenant
\nand their soul abhors your [statutes].
\nThey do not delight in anything that 32you have commanded,
\ninstead they choose that which you hate.
\nBecause you have determined them to the ex[treme limits of] your w[rath]
\nin order to execute great judgments against them
\n33in the sight of all of your creatures
\nso that they will become a sign and a por[tent for] eternal generations,
\nso that all might know your glory and great power.
\n34And what indeed is flesh that he might understand [these things? ]
\n[And a creatu]re of dust, how is it able to determine its step? [blank]<\/p>\n
35You yourself have formed the spirit,
\nand its work you have determined [forever]
\nand the way of all life is from you.
\nI know that 36no wealth can compare with your truth,
\nand nothing on ea[rth is like the angels] of your holiness.
\nI know that you have chosen them above all
\n37and that they will serve you forever.
\nYou will not receive a bribe [for wicked doings]
\nnor will you take a cover-up for the deeds of wickedness,
\nfor 38you are a God of truth,
\nand you abhor every iniquity for [ever]
\n[and no] wickedness shall be before you.
\n[For] I myself know you 39because the w[ay] of all life is yours
\nand by your will [every] deed
\nand I shall kn[ow that] 40[ ] your holiness [ ]
\n41For in [ ]
\n8:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5[ ]
\n6[ ]
\n7[ ]
\n8[ ] and all
\n9[ men of por]tent you brought into the number of [ ]
\n10[and nothing can compare to the mysteries of] his won[der] in heaven and on earth
\n11[ ] and in your hand is the judgment of them all
\n12[and nothing is] against you; and what will he think
\nand every 13[man who hallows himself] will not turn to guilt to straighten his heart. [
\nHow] can he understand; he will not do anything 14apart from you ever.
\nAnd you opened a source of light [ ]
\nand you call me to your counsel 15to praise your holiness
\nfrom the mouth of all of your creatures
\nbecause you have worke[d to un]ite with the host 16of the eternal warriors;
\nand a difficult stubborn spirit to silence [ ]
\nyou decide[d] to [make] 17[judgm]ent [against them]
\nto listen to an honored voice for the deeds of [ ]
\n18[ ] perverted [spi]rit rule[s] over the creature of dust. [ ]
\n19[ ] from dus[t]
\n20by the spirit of your ho[l]iness [that you have se]t within me [ ]
\nand a mo[rtal] is not able [to seek]
\n21the spirit of your holin[ess] [ ] the fullness of [heav]en [and] earth
\n[ ] your [g]lory, the fullness of the entire [earth].
\n22And I know that in [your] wil[l] for man
\nyou have multiplied his inheritance by your righteous deeds [ ].
\nYour truth is in all [ ]
\n23and the service of righteousness concerning your word,
\nwhich you appointed him, lest he err [from your commandments
\nand wi]thout a stumble in all of [his] dee[ds
\nbecause] 24by my knowing all these things [I will] fi[n]d the proper reply,
\nprostrating myself and begging for mercy [endlessly] for my rebelliousness,
\nand seeking a spirit of underst [anding]
\n25and strengthening myself by the spirit of [your] h[oliness],
\nand clinging onto the truth of your covenant,
\n[serv]ing you truthfully and with a perfect heart,
\nand loving the word of [your mouth].<\/p>\n
26Blessed are you, O LORD!
\nGreat in counsel and mighty in deed
\nbecause everything is your doing.
\nBehold, you decided to do a gre[at] 27kindness to me
\nand you are gracious toward me by the spirit of your compassion
\non account of your glory. As for you, righteousness is yours,
\nfor you have done all of these things.
\n28And by my knowing that you have recorded the spirit of the righteous one,
\nand I myself have chosen to purify my hands in accordance with your wil [l].
\nAnd the soul of your servant ab[hor]s every 29work of injustice.
\nAnd I know that no man may be righteous apart from you.
\nAnd I entreat your favor by the spirit that you have put within me,
\nto perfect 30your kindness to [your] servant for [ever],
\nto cleanse me by the spirit of your holiness,
\nand to bring me near according to your will,
\naccording to the magnitude of your kindness
\n[th]at you have done
\n31My standing and the pos[i]tio[ning of my step in] every station of [your] w[ll]
\nwhich you have cho[s]en
\nfor those who love you and keep [your] comma[nd]ments
\n[in order that they may position themselves] 32before you [fore]ver;
\nand [atoning for iniquity] and luxuria[ting] in pleasure
\nand becoming mingled with the spirit of your work,
\nand conferring understanding of your dee[ds] for [ ]
\n33[ ] and may no affliction co[m]e before him;
\n(no) stumbling from the statutes of your covenant
\nFor [ ] 34your face
\nand I kno[w that you are God!
\nGracious and merciful, long-suffering,
\nabounding in kindness and truth
\nand bearing transgression [ ]
\n35and console concerning e[very iniquity
\nthose who love [you] and keep [your] commandmen[ts],
\nturning to you faithfully and with a perfect heart [ ]
\n36for your servant [and to do what is] good in your eyes.
\nDo not turn the face of your servant away!
\n[And do no]t loathe the son of your maidservant.
\n37[ ] And I was brought near to your words [ ]
\n38[ ]
\n39[ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]<\/p>\n
9:1\u201310:4 (1:1\u20132:2)<\/p>\n
UNIT 1<\/p>\n
9:1[ ]
\n2[ ] in your turning from tohu
\n3[ ] holy ones [ ]
\n4and all [ ] [ ] between good for wickedne[ss until]
\n5world [ ] [ ]
\n6in them [ ] because [you are my God, the source of kn]owledge and a pool of [ ]
\n7and the font of power [ ] great is the plan [ ] without number and your zeal
\n8before your wisdom [ ]
\nlong-suffering in your judgments;
\nyou are righteous in all of your deeds 9and in your wisdom [ ] forever.
\nand before you created them, you knew all of their deeds 10forever and ever
\nand [without you no]thing shall be done;
\nand not one knows without your will;
\nyou have created 11all of the spirits
\nand you have worked [them
\nyou have establish]ed it
\nand a judgment for all of their deeds. [blank]<\/p>\n
UNIT 2<\/p>\n
And you have stretched out the heavens 12for your glory
\nand all [ ] you [ha]ve established for your will
\nand spirits of might according to their statutes
\nbefore 13they became angels of h[oliness]
\neternal spirits in their dominions,
\nluminaries according to their mysteries,
\n14stars according to [their] circuits,
\n[and all the storm winds] according to their duty,
\nmeteors and lightning bolts according to their work and storehouses,
\n15a plan according to the[ir] delights [ ] according to their
\nmysteries. [blank]<\/p>\n
UNIT 3<\/p>\n
You have created the earth with your strength, UNIT 4<\/p>\n 23These things I know through your insight, UNIT 5<\/p>\n You created 30breath on the tongue, UNIT 6<\/p>\n And you, in your mercies 34and your great kindnesses, UNIT 7<\/p>\n Hearken, 37O sages, those who speak of knowledge and those who act rashly! 10:5\u201321 (2:3\u201319)<\/p>\n 10:5[I give thanks to you, O LORD], 10:22\u201332 (2:20\u201330)<\/p>\n 10:22[blank] I give thanks to you, O LORD, 10:33\u201311:5 (2:31\u20133:4)<\/p>\n 10:33I give thanks to you, O LORD, 11:6\u201319 (3:5\u201318)<\/p>\n 11:6[ I give thanks to you, O LORD All 12cervixes tremble! But she who is pregnant with a serpent has an excruciating pain 14And the foundations of the wall shake like a ship on the surface of the water. When the ocean depths boil up over the freshwater springs, And the gates [of Sheol] will open [for all] the works of the serpent. 11:20\u201337 (3:19\u201336)<\/p>\n 11:20I give thanks to you, O LORD, But I am a creature of 25clay. 27When all the traps of the Pit are opened, 30Then the torrents of Belial will flow over all the high river banks, For God will thunder with the tumult of his power 11:38\u201312:5 (3:37\u20134:4)<\/p>\n 11:38I give thanks to you, O LORD, 12:6\u201313:6 (4:5\u20135:4)<\/p>\n 12:6[ ] [blank] I give thanks to you, O LORD, For you, O God, will despise every plan 14of Belial But as for me, fear and trembling have seized me 13:7\u201321 (5:5\u201319)<\/p>\n 13:7I give thanks to you, O LORD, But you shut the mouth of the young lions 16But you are my God! 20But you are my God! 13:22\u201315:8 (5:20\u20137:5)<\/p>\n 13:22{I give thanks to you} Blessed are you, O LORD, But you, O my God, 35have opened a wide space in my heart! For I am bound by ropes 39that cannot be loosened, you will refine them in order to purify (them) from guilt [and from s]in. And [as for me], I have [become] like a sailor on a ship on the churning 26of the seas. For [ ] belongs to God Most High [ ] 15:9\u201328 (7:6\u201325)<\/p>\n UNIT 1<\/p>\n 15:9[blank] I give thanks to you, O LORD, [blank] UNIT 2<\/p>\n 13[And] you, my God, UNIT 3<\/p>\n 16For you know the intention of every deed, UNIT 4<\/p>\n 19But you know the inclination of your servant, UNIT 5<\/p>\n And I rely on the mult[itude of your compassion UNIT 6<\/p>\n And yo[u] UNIT 7<\/p>\n 28For you are an [eter]nal light for me, 15:29\u201336 (7:26\u201333)<\/p>\n [blank] 15:29I give thanks [to you, O LORD], For you are an eternal God, 15:37\u201316:4 (7:34\u20138:3)<\/p>\n 15:37[I give thanks to y]ou, O LORD, 16:5\u201317:36 (8:4\u20139:36)<\/p>\n 16:5I give thanks [to you, O Lo]rd, But you, O [G]od, you protect its fruit all around 17But you, O my God, have placed (words) in my mouth, like rain showers for all [who thirst], [My] dwelling is with the sick, But as for me, But as for me, in you I have [ ] 19with me, 23But you, O my God, at [the appointed time] you plead my case. 17:38\u201319:5 (9:37\u201311:2)<\/p>\n 17:38B[less]ed are yo[u, O LORD], What then is a mortal? I am but dust and ashes, 10Behold, you are the chief of angels and king of the glorious ones, 15full blank line<\/p>\n 16Blessed are you, O LORD, God of compassion [and great] in kindness, 22And I, according to my knowledge in [your] truth, You have not put 25my support upon profit or in wealth 29But to the sons of your truth you have given insight [ ] forever. 19:6\u201320:6 (11:3\u201312:3)<\/p>\n 19:6I thank you, O my God, As for me, what am I? You put thanksgivings in my mouth and upon my tongue 8[a psal]m; As for me, I know that For your glory\u2019s sake you have purified a mortal from transgression, 18[And as for me], I thank you, O my God, Blessed are you, [O LORD, t]hat you have given to your servant 20:7\u201322:42 (12:4 frag. 1 i; frag. 4 1\u201320; frag. 47 1\u20135)<\/p>\n 20:7[For (the) Instruct]or: thanksgivings and a prayer, And I am the Instructor; And a return to dust for the creature of clay at the time of [your] wrath [ ] FRAGMENT 3<\/p>\n 21[ ] a net of de[struction] [is sp]read out And I am a creature of [ ] FRAGMENT 4<\/p>\n 20[ ] You [di]vided [ ] 23:1\u201325:33 (18:1\u201316; 19:1\u201316; frag. 2 i; frag. 57 ii 1\u20134; frag. 9 1\u201312; frag. 50 1\u20136; frag. 45 1\u20138; frag. 6 1\u201314; frag. 2 ii 1\u201313; frag. 5 1\u201314; frag. 7 i 1\u20139; frag. 8 1\u201311)<\/p>\n 23:1[ ] FRAGMENT 2 COLUMN I<\/p>\n 17[and you open the mouth of your servant] [ ] As for me, what am I? FRAGMENT 45<\/p>\n 21[ ] righteousness and [ FRAGMENT 2 COLUMN II+6<\/p>\n 27[ ] They are condemned in their lifetime [ ] FRAGMENT 5<\/p>\n 25:1[ ] FRAGMENT 8<\/p>\n 25to [ ] Apocryphal Psalms<\/p>\n Eileen Schuller<\/p>\n The cave 11 Psalms Scrolla, or 11QPsa (also known as 11Q5), contains 40 biblical psalms from between Ps. 101 and Ps. 150, many in a different order than in the Masoretic Text, and 8 poems not in the biblical Psalter. The scroll includes a prose paragraph at 11QPsa 27:2\u201311 that lists the 4050 compositions that David wrote: 3600 psalms, 364 songs for the daily offerings, 52 for the Sabbaths, 30 for the festivals, plus \u201c4 songs for making music over the stricken.\u201d The prose paragraph concludes with the statement \u201call these he [David] spoke through prophecy which was given him from before the Most High\u201d (27:11).<\/p>\n Authorship and History<\/p>\n 11QPsa is a long manuscript of five sheets sewn together and five separated fragments, containing sections of some thirty-four columns, that was copied in about the middle of the 1st century CE. One interesting feature of this manuscript is that the divine name (the Tetragrammaton) is always written in the \u201cold\u201d paleo-Hebrew script (rather than in the regular script that is found in most manuscripts).<\/p>\n GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n Six of the apocryphal psalms are presented below. In addition, there is a Wisdom poem (cols. 21\u201322) that is also found in Wisdom of Ben Sirah (Sir. 51); and \u201cThe Last Words\u201d of David (col. 27) from 2 Sam. 23:1\u20137. None of these psalms is explicitly sectarian; that is, they reflect the piety and themes that are typical of the Second Temple period.<\/p>\n SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n James A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11, 11QPs.a Discoveries in the Judean Desert of Jordan 4. Oxford: Clarendon, 1965.<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/p>\n and (11QPsa 28:3\u201314)<\/p>\n A Hallelujah of David the Son of Jesse 2My hands have made an instrument 3The mountains do not witness to him, nor do the hills proclaim; 4For who can proclaim and who can bespeak 5He sent his prophet to anoint me, 6Though they were tall of stature 7But he sent me and took me from behind the flock At the beginning of David\u2019s power after the prophet of God had anointed him Plea for Deliverance (11QPsa 19:1\u201318)<\/p>\n 1Surely a maggot cannot praise You and by Your righteousness You enlighten them. Apostrophe for Zion (11QPsa 22:1\u201318)<\/p>\n 1I remember you for blessing, O Zion; 7Purge violence from your midst; 14Praise from you is pleasing to God, O Zion, Hymn to the Creator (11QPs a 25:9\u201315)<\/p>\n 1Great and holy is the LORD, Psalm 154 (11QPsa 18:1\u201316)<\/p>\n 1With a loud voice glorify God; 3[Bind] your souls with the good ones 5For to make known the glory of the LORD 9For the Most High is the LORD of Jacob, 12From the gates of the righteous is heard her voice, 16Behold the eyes of the LORD Psalm 155 (11QPsa 24:3\u201317)<\/p>\n 1O LORD, I called to you, Non-Canonical Psalms<\/p>\n Eileen Schuller<\/p>\n Non-Canonical Psalms A (4Q380) and Non-Canonical Psalms B (4Q381) are two very fragmentary manuscripts that contain collections of psalms. None of the compositions (at least in those portions that have been preserved) are psalms that are included in the biblical Psalter or known from any other ancient source. The two manuscripts do not overlap in any way, so we cannot be certain whether they are two copies of the same collection or whether they represent two different collections.<\/p>\n Authorship and History<\/p>\n About 110 fragments are preserved from 4Q381. Many are very tiny with only a few letters; the seven largest pieces each have 9 to 16 lines, with one-half to three-quarters of each line preserved. 4Q380 is made up of seven fragments, one of 11 lines in two columns, and the other six with only a few words preserved. Portions of at least 15 psalms have survived, though none of them are complete. Significance<\/p>\n These poetic compositions are clearly modeled on the biblical psalms. They are addressed to God or speak about God, with words of lamentation, petition, and praise. Some have a superscription, similar in style to those found in the biblical Psalter, that attributes the psalm to a specific individual: Praise of the Man of God (4Q381 24 4) and Prayer of King Manasseh (4Q381 33 8); in 4Q381 31 4 the psalm is ascribed to a king of Judah, but the name is not preserved; 4Q380 1 ii 8 is the only case where the psalm is ascribed to a non-royal figure, to Obadiah (see discussion in the commentary below). It is not clear if these pseudepigraphic attributions come from the author of the psalm or if they were added secondarily by an editor who recognized some features in the psalm that suggested a specific biblical character. A number of the psalms are missing their beginning section, so we cannot know if all of them had titles or if some were \u201corphan\u201d psalms. Two psalms end with the word selah (4Q381 24 3; 33 6), a term that is used at various places in the biblical psalms to mark some sort of division, although the exact meaning and purpose of the term is uncertain. GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n Both scrolls are very poorly preserved, and restoration efforts often involve rather small isolated fragments. Attempts have been made to reconstruct the original order of the major fragments in 4Q381, on the basis of the content, size, and shape of each fragment, but the results so far are tentative at best. In the translation below, where a specific biblical psalm is being quoted or echoed, the biblical wording has been restored, but in other places the text is too fragmentary to make restorations with any confidence.<\/p>\n SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n Esther Eshel, Hanan Eshel, Carol Newsom, Bilhah Nitzan, Eileen Schuller, and Ada Yardeni. Qumran Cave 4.VI: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 1. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 11. Oxford: Clarendon, 1998.<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/p>\n Prayer of the Man of God (4Q381 frag. 24)<\/p>\n 4A Tehillah of the Man of G[o]d. YHWH God[\u2026] Prayer of Manasseh (40381 frag. 33)<\/p>\n 8The Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah, when the King of Assyria imprisoned him. [My G]o[d] near, my salvation is before your eyes. What [ ] Prayer of Obadiah (4Q380 1 II 8\u20139)<\/p>\n 8. A Tehillah of Obadiah [\u2026] Greek Synagogal Prayers<\/p>\n Pieter W. van der Horst<\/p>\n In a late 4th-century Christian church order called the Apostolic Constitutions (AC), six originally Jewish prayers had been adopted in a christianized form in order to be used in church services. They are still recognizable as coming from the Seven Benedictions for Sabbath morning, although they are in Greek and have been heavily edited by the Christian compiler of Constitutions. Often it is very difficult, or even impossible, to disentangle the Jewish source from the Christian redaction.<\/p>\n History and Authorship<\/p>\n Probably the prayers were originally composed in Hebrew sometime in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Thereafter they were translated into Greek and expanded for use in Diaspora synagogues. Then they were adopted and adapted by judaizing Christians in 4th-century Syria. And, finally, they were redacted and incorporated into the Christian Apostolic Constitutions 7.33\u201338 by an anonymous compiler in Antioch in the 380s CE. In spite of having undergone all these adaptations and revisions, the prayers are still clearly recognizable as the first six of the Seven Benedictions for the Sabbath morning service, not only because they are in exactly the same order as their Hebrew counterparts, but also because each of these prayers shows, to a greater or lesser extent, verbal agreements with the corresponding Hebrew prayers. Significance<\/p>\n These prayers are significant in various ways. The Seven Benedictions for Sabbaths and festival days consist of the first three (Avoth, Gevuroth, Kedushat ha-Shem) and last three berakhot (Avodah, Hoda\u2019a, Birkat Shalom) of the Eighteen Benedictions (known as Shemoneh Esreh or Amidah) plus a middle benediction for the sanctification of the day (Kedushat ha-Yom). So on Sabbaths and festival days (except Rosh ha-Shanah, \u201cNew Year\u201d) the 13 middle benedictions are replaced by one berakhah for that specific day. \u201cReplaced\u201d may not be the right word since it is not impossible that the Seven Benedictions were already in existence before the Amidah got its final form. From the earliest Rabbinic document, the Mishnah, we know that by the beginning of the 3rd century the Seven Berakhot for the Sabbath were already in existence, and they were probably even older than that (see M. RH 4:5). But we do not learn the text of these Benedictions there; in fact, the earliest preserved Jewish prayerbook (siddur) dates from as late as the 9th century. So the Greek prayers are our oldest testimonies to the text of these Benedictions. GUIDE TO READING<\/p>\n In the translation, underlined type is used for words and phrases that can with a reasonable amount of probability be attributed to the Jewish source; patently Christian additions are printed in italic. Note that passages in normal type may well be hiding Jewish material without our being able to detect it. The emphasis in the commentary will be upon the Jewish material in underlined type.<\/p>\n SUGGESTED READINGS<\/p>\n Bousset, W. \u201cEine j\u00fcdische Gebetssammlung im siebenten Buch der apostolischen Konstitutionen.\u201d In Bousset\u2019s Religionsgeschichtliche Studien, ed. A. F. Verheule, 231\u201386. Leiden: Brill, 1979. TRANSLATION<\/p>\n AC 7.33<\/p>\n 2Our eternal Savior, King of the gods, the one who alone is almighty and LORD, God of all beings, and God of our holy and blameless fathers who were before us, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is merciful and compassionate, patient and abundant in mercy, to whom every heart appears as naked and (to whom) every secret thought is revealed. To you the souls of the righteous cry out, upon you the devout have put their hopeful trust, you Father of the blameless, you who listen to those who call upon you in uprightness, you who even know the supplications that are kept silent, for your foreknowledge reaches as far as the inmost parts of humankind, and by your awareness you search each person\u2019s thought, and in every region of the inhabited world the incense that comes through prayer and words is sent up to you. AC 7.34<\/p>\n 1Blessed are you, O LORD, King of the ages, who made all things through Christ and who in the beginning brought order through him to the disordered (chaos), who separated waters from waters by a firmament, who also put a spirit of life into them, who established the earth and stretched out the heaven, and who ordered exactly the (dis)position of each one of the creatures. AC 7.35<\/p>\n 1Great are you, O LORD almighty, and great is your power, and of your understanding there is no measure. O Creator (and) Savior, you who are rich in favors, patient and bestowing mercy, you do not withhold salvation from your creatures. For you are good by nature, yet you spare sinners and call them to repentance. For your warnings are full of compassion. How could we subsist if you were to demand us to be judged quickly, when after having experienced so much patience on your part we are still scarcely able to free ourselves from our weakness? AC 7.36<\/p>\n 1O LORD almighty, you created the world through Christ and you have instituted the Sabbath in memory of the fact that it was on that day that you rested from your works\u2014for training in your laws and you have also ordained festivals for the gladdening of our souls, so that we may be reminded of the Wisdom created by you. AC 7.37<\/p>\n 1You who have fulfilled the promises made through the prophets, who showed mercy on Zion and had compassion on Jerusalem by exalting the throne of your servant David in its midst, by the birth of Christ who according to the flesh was born of his seed from a virgin alone, O Master (and) God, please do accept also now the prayers that come from the lips of your people, which are out of the Gentiles, of those who call upon you in truth, as you accepted the gifts of the righteous in their generations. AC 7.38<\/p>\n 1We thank you for all things, almighty Master, for you have not taken your pity and your compassion away from us, but in each and every generation you save, deliver, help, and protect us. Prayer of Enosh<\/p>\n James L. Kugel<\/p>\n The Qumran text designated Prayer of Enosh (scroll 4Q369) consists of two substantial fragments and seven additional scraps. The two large fragments seem to have contained two separate prayerlike compositions, since most of their readable parts are addressed to a divine \u201cYou.\u201d Its time of composition is unknown, but it appears to have been written sometime before the start of the 1st century BCE. When 4Q369 was officially published in 1994, the text\u2019s first column was misidentified as a prayer spoken by the biblical figure of Enosh (mentioned in Gen. 5:6\u201311), a name that was consequently given to the composition as a whole. In reality, the speaker of the first and second columns (if any speaker at all was mentioned) is quite unknown. The more readable second column ought rather to be identified as \u201cPrayer Concerning God and Israel,\u201d a name that might do for the first column as well.<\/p>\n Significance<\/p>\n This second column (fragment 1 ii) may be described as a catalog of the munificent gifts that God gave to the people of Israel and its progenitor, Jacob. This catalog is framed through a series of biblical quotations and the interpretive motifs connected to them. The motifs include the idea that Israel was \u201cpromoted\u201d to the status of God\u2019s firstborn son by dint of its acceptance of the Torah\u2014a theme paralleled in numerous other compositions of the period; that, in addition to granting Israel the Torah, God also \u201cclarified\u201d its laws for His people; that God appointed a particular angel to watch over Israel; and other themes well known in the writings of the Second Temple period. All these are presented as things that God has graciously granted to His people, for which the speaker of this section is presumably offering heartfelt thanks.<\/p>\n SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n H. Attridge and J. Strugnell in Qumran Cave 4.VIII: Para-Biblical Texts Part 1. H. Attridge, et al., DJD 13, 353\u201362. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. TRANSLATION<\/p>\n Fragment 1 I<\/p>\n 1. and to all Fragment 1 II<\/p>\n 1. Your name. You apportioned his inheritance to cause Your name to dwell there[ Prayer of Manasseh<\/p>\n Esther G. Chazon<\/p>\n The title attributes this prayer to King Manasseh of Judah (687\u2013642 BCE). According to 2 Chron. 33:1\u201320 (cf. 2 Kings 21:1\u201318; 23:3\u20134), Manasseh was deported in fetters to Babylon as divine punishment for promoting idol worship. In captivity, he humbly entreated God, who heard his supplication and restored him to his throne in Jerusalem. Chronicles does not record the text of Manasseh\u2019s prayer, and the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh fills that gap. This confessional\/penitential prayer has three parts: an invocation to God (vv. 1\u20138a); a confession of multiple sins, notably the speaker\u2019s setting up abominations (vv. 8b\u201312); a petition for forgiveness and concluding promise to praise God (vv. 13\u201315).<\/p>\n Authorship and History<\/p>\n Prayer of Manasseh was apparently composed by a Greek-speaking Jew who lived outside Palestine before 200 CE. Either the author had 2 Chron. 33:1\u201320 in mind or the title bearing the attribution was a later addition by someone who recognized the similarities with Manasseh\u2019s biography. Significance<\/p>\n Prayer of Manasseh is an important link in Jewish and Christian exegetical and liturgical traditions. Verse 7 attests a Greek liturgical formulation of the 13 middot\/divine attributes (Exod. 34:6\u20137). The text\u2019s history indicates Jewish and Christian cross-fertilization: the Jewish prayer penetrated early Christian teaching and psalmody; the Syriac version was translated into Hebrew and placed in a medieval Jewish prayer collection. The prayer continues to be used in Christian, but not Jewish, liturgy.<\/p>\n SUGGESTED READING<\/p>\n Charlesworth, James H. \u201cPrayer of Manasseh.\u201d In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, edited by J. Charlesworth, 2.625\u201337. New York: Doubleday. TRANSLATION<\/p>\n 1O LORD Almighty, Prayer for King Jonathan<\/p>\n Hanan Eshel<\/p>\n Prayer for King Jonathan (4Q448), preserves fragments of three scroll columns\u2014an upper column and two lower columns, which mention the name of King Jonathan twice. A square piece of leather was attached to the right margin of the scroll, for insertion of a strap that was wrapped around the scroll. Similar reinforcing tabs were attached to many Qumran scrolls. The last six lines of column 1 include parts of Ps. 154, which is known from the Psalms Scroll from cave 11 (11QPsa) as well as from several Syriac manuscripts. 1. [With a loud voice glorify God, in the Congregation] of the many procl[aim His majesty]. Column 2 is narrow and has been preserved in full. Column 3 is apparently the continuation of column 2 and appears to have been narrower than column 1. In column 2 and the beginning of column 3, the author addresses God and asks him to guard King Jonathan and to bless him and Israel with peace. The author expresses the fervent hope that the kingdom of God will be blessed and that someone (not decipherable from the text) will be remembered and be able to approach Jerusalem and the Temple. It seems that at the end of line 4 in column 3 the text shifts from a plea to a thanksgiving prayer. God is praised for having placed his name upon Israel and for delivering King Jonathan on the \u201cDay of War.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorship and History<\/p>\n There is no evidence that this text was written by the group that penned the sectarian Qumran scrolls. Its language differs from that of the known sectarian manuscripts from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanksgiving Hymns (Hodayot) Angela Kim Harkins The Thanksgiving Hymns scroll (1QH) from Cave 1 was one of the first scrolls to be discovered at Qumran. It is a sizable scroll containing anywhere from 28 to 34 individual compositions. The scroll takes its name, Thanksgiving Hymns (Hebrew Hodayot, and hereafter Hymns), from the formula that opens … <\/p>\n
\n16seas and deeps you m[ade (them) with your power
\nand] their [thou]ghts you established with your wisdom.
\nAnd all that is in them 17you have de[t]ermined according to you [r] will.
\n[ ] for the spirit of man whom you formed in the earth,
\nfor all the days of the world 18and the generations of eternity
\naccording to [their] w[orks,] in their proper seasons.
\nYou apportioned their service in all their generations
\nand judgm[en]t 19in its appointed times
\nfor their domini [on
\n] their [wa]ys you established from generation to generation
\nand the visitation of their recompense
\nwith 20
\nYou have apportioned it to all their offspring
\nfor an infinite number of generations,
\n21and for all the years of eternity [ ].
\nAnd by the wisdom of your knowledge
\nyou have det[e]rmined their de[s]tiny prior 22to their existence
\nand according [to your] w[ill] everything[s] hall be,
\nand without you, nothing shall be. [blank]<\/with><\/p>\n
\nfor you have opened my ears to the mysteries of wonder.
\nBut I am a creature of clay and mixed in water,
\n24the foundation of shame and the source of impurity,
\nthe melting pot of iniquity and edifice of sin,
\nthe spirit of error and perverted is without 25insight
\nand terrified by judgments of righteousness.
\nWhat shall I say that is not known?
\nOr announce that is untold?
\nEverything 26is engraved before you with the stylus of remembrance,
\nfor all the periods of eternity
\nand seasons of a number of eternal years,
\nin all of their appointed times.
\n27They are neither hidden nor missing from your presence.
\nBut how can a mortal explain his sin?
\nAnd how can he defend his iniquities?
\n28And how can he return an injustice for the righteous judgment?
\nAll the deeds of righteousness and 29the true counsel
\nbelong to you, O God of knowledge!
\nBut the work of iniquity and the deeds of deceit
\nbelong to the sons of Adam! [blank]<\/p>\n
\nand you know its words.
\nYou determined the fruit of the lips prior to their existence.
\nYou placed words on the line
\n31and the breath of the lips pour forth in measure.
\nYou make the measuring lines go out according to their mysteries,
\nand the utterances of spirits according to their calculation,
\nin order to make known 32your glory
\nand to recount your wonders
\nin all the works of your truth and your righteous jud [gments].
\nAnd in order to praise your name
\n33with the mouth of all those who know you.
\nAccording to their understanding,
\nthey shall bless you forever [and ever]. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nstrengthen the mortal spirit before afflictions
\nand you have cleansed a miserable spirit from an abundance of iniquity,
\n35so that he might recount your wonders before all your creatures.
\nAnd I shall recoun[t always] in their midst the judgments of my afflictions,
\n36and to the sons of mortals, all the wonders that you have empowered in [me]
\n[before the s]ons of Adam. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nBe of strong character!
\n[All you whose way is straight], increase prudence!
\n38O you righteous ones, put an end to injustice!
\nAll you whose way is perfect, sup[p]ort [ ] the oppressed!
\n39Be patient and do not reject any judgment[s of righteousness! ]
\nAlas, the fo]olish of heart do not understand 40these things, [ ]
\n[ ]
\n41[and the ruth]less ones will gna[sh their teeth]<\/p>\n
\n[because you straighten my he]art (against) all the ways of iniquity.
\nAnd you purifi[ed me] 6[
\nand you] placed gu[ardians of truth opposite my guilt
\nand rep]rovers of {truth} righteousness in all of [my] viol[ence]
\n7[ ] my wou[nds] are crushed [strong comforters]
\nand announcers of rejoicing for my sorrowful mourning.
\n8[A messenger of] peace to all the destructions [I have] heard [ ]
\nstrong ones to melt my heart
\nand those who are courageous of spir[it] 9before [aff]liction.
\nAnd you put a reply of the tongue on my unci[rcumcised] lips,
\nand you support my soul by strengthening my loins
\n10and fortifying (my) strength.
\nYou make my feet stand in the domain of wickedness.
\nSo that I become a trap for the rebellious,
\nbut a healing for all 11who turn away from rebellion;
\nprudence for the simpletons,
\nand a steady thought for all those of an anxious heart.
\nYou have made me a reproach 12and a taunt to the traitors;
\n(but) a foundation of truth and insight
\nfor the ones whose way is upstanding.
\nOn account of the iniquity of the wicked ones,
\nI have become 13slander on the lip of ruthless ones,
\nscoffers gnashing teeth.
\nAnd I, I have become a mocking song for the rebels.
\n14And the assembly of the wicked are seething against me.
\nThey roar like a gale on the seas, when their waves churn;
\n15they spew forth slime and mud.
\nBut you have made me a banner for the righteous elect,
\nand a knowledgeable interpreter in mysteries of wonder.
\nTesting 16[the men] of truth and proving the lovers of discipline.
\nI have become a man of contention for the interpreters of error,
\nand a master 17of [st]rife for all the seers of correct things.
\nI have become a zealous spirit against all those who seek flat[tering words],
\n18[and all] the men of deceit roar against me,
\nlike the sound of the thunder of mighty waters.
\n[All] 19their thoughts are the plots of Belial.
\nAnd they throw the life of a man into the Pit,
\nhe whom you established by my word
\nand (to) whom you taught insight.
\n20You made his heart able to open a source of knowledge
\nfor all who have insight.
\nBut they have changed them, with uncircumcised lips 21and a strange tongue,
\nfor a people with no insights, so that they become ruined by their error. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have placed me in the bundle of the living,
\n23and you protect me from all the snares of the Pit.
\nBecause ruthless men seek my soul
\nas I hold fast 24 to your covenant.
\nAnd they are a worthless council, the congregation of Belial.
\nThey do not know that my position is from you.
\n25You saved my life with your kindnesses
\nfor my way is from you.
\nBecause of you they attack 26me
\nso that you may be honored in the judgment of the wicked ones.
\nAnd you are strengthening me
\nagainst the sons 27of Adam,
\nfor my standing is in your kindness.
\nAnd I myself have said,
\n\u201cMighty men have encamped against me,
\nthey have surrounded me with all 28their weapons of war.
\n(Their) arrows burst forth without remedy,
\nand (their) brandished blade (flashes) like a fire consuming wood.
\n29Like the roar of mighty waters is the uproar of their voice;
\na tempest and a rainstorm to destroy many.
\n30Wickedness and worthlessness shall explode as high as the stars
\nwhen their waves pile up.\u201d
\nBut as for me, when my heart melts like water,
\nmy soul holds fast to your covenant.
\n31But as for them, they spread out a net for me,
\nbut it shall capture their own feet;
\nThey hid snares for my soul
\n(but) they themselves fall in them. [blank]
\nAnd \u201cmy foot stands on level ground.
\n32Far from their congregation I will bless your name\u201d (Ps. 26:12). [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor your eye is over [me] in the understanding of my soul
\nand you have rescued me from the jealousy of the mediators of lies.
\n34And from the congregation of those who seek flattering words
\nyo[u] have redeemed the soul of the poor one,
\nwhom they planned to put to an end 35by pouring out his blood
\nconsidering nothing of your service.
\nBecause they [did not] know that my steps are from you,
\nthey made me a shame 36and a scorn
\nin the mouth of all those who seek deceit.
\nBut you, my God, have helped a poor and destitute soul
\n37from one who is stronger than he.
\nYou have redeemed my soul from the hand of the mighty ones.
\nIn the midst of their reviling you did not let me become despondent,
\n38so as to abandon your service for fear of destruction (at the hands of) the wicked,
\nor to exchange a steady thought with a delusion
\nwhich 39you put [ ] statutes,
\nand by the testimonies you [estab]lished me to strengthen
\n40[f]lesh [ ] a pit for all my offspring with
\n41[ton]gue like your disciples and in judg [ment]
\n11:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ] [ ]
\n4[ ] You have illumined my face for your covenant [ ]
\n5[ ] for yourself, with eternal glory together with all [ ]<\/p>\n
\nbecause] your mouth is [tru]th,
\nand you have rescued me from [a worthless counsel] and from [ ]!
\n7You hav[e saved] [my] soul [because]
\nthey have considered me [a reproach and a taun]t;
\nthey have made [my] soul
\nlike a ship in the [d]epths of the sea,
\n8like a fortified city befo[re its enemies].
\nAnd I was in distress, like a woman laboring for her firstborn.
\nWhen her pangs have overwhelmed her,
\n9excruciating labor pain is upon her cervix,
\ncausing the firstborn of the pregnant one to writhe;
\nfor children arrive at the shattering pains of death.
\n10And she who is pregnant with a man-child is bound by her labor pains.
\nWhen she delivers a male through the shattering pains of death
\nand through the snares of Sheol, a wonderful counselor bursts forth with his might
\n11from the womb of the pregnant one;
\na man-child is delivered from the shattering pains
\nby the one who is pregnant with him.<\/p>\n
\nExcruciating labor pains are at their births,
\nand a horror to those who birth them.
\nAnd at his birthing, all birth pangs will overwhelm
\n13in the crucible of the pregnant one!<\/p>\n
\nand the shattering pain of the Pit belongs to all doers of horror.<\/p>\n
\nAnd the clouds thunder with a tumultuous noise!
\nThose who dwell on the dust, 15like those who go down to the seas,
\nare terrified by the roar of the seas.
\nAnd all of their sages are like sailors on the deeps.
\n16For all their wisdom is confused by the roaring of the seas.<\/p>\n
\nand waves 17are tossed up to towering heights,
\nand crashing breakers of waters are (heard) in the tumult of their noise.
\nAnd during their churning, Sh[eo]l [and Abaddon] shall open
\n[along with al]l the arrows of the Pit.
\n18With their step to the ocean depths, they will make their noise heard.<\/p>\n
\n19And they shall shut
\nthe doors of the Pit behind the one pregnant with iniquity,
\nand the eternal bars behind all the spirits of the serpent. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have redeemed my soul from the Pit.
\nAnd from Sheol Abaddon 21you have lifted me up to an eternal height,
\nso that I might walk about on an endless plain.
\nAnd I know that there is a miqveh for him whom
\n22you created from dust for the eternal council.
\nYou have cleansed a perverted spirit from a great transgression,
\nin order to position him in station with 23the host of the holy ones,
\nin order to come into the yahad with the congregation of the sons of heaven.
\nAnd for man, you have cast an eternal lot with the spirits 24of knowledge,
\nso that he might praise your name together with shouts of rejoicing,
\nand so that he might recount your wonders before all your creatures.<\/p>\n
\nWhat am I? One kneaded with water!
\nAs whom am I to be reckoned?
\nAnd what strength do I have?
\nFor I have positioned myself in the domain of wickedness,
\n26and in lot with the wretched ones.
\nThe soul of the oppressed dwells amidst tumults of the multitude;
\ndestruction (and) disaster accompany my steps.<\/p>\n
\nand all the wicked traps
\nand the net of the wretched ones
\nare spread out upon the surface of the water;
\n28when all the arrows of the Pit fly out without return
\nand shoot forth without hope.
\nWhen the measuring line falls against judgment
\nand the lot of wrath 29against those who are forsaken,
\nand the outpouring of wrath against the deceivers
\nand the time of anger belongs to all of Belial,
\nand the snares of death engulf without escape.<\/p>\n
\nlike a devouring fire (in) all their channels(?),
\nfinishing off every tree, green and dry, from their canals.
\n31It spreads by tongues of flame, until all who drink from them (are) gone.
\nIt devours the foundations of clay 32and the expanse of dry land.
\nThe bases of the mountains are set aflame
\nand the roots of flint become torrents of pitch.
\nAnd it shall consume as far as the great deep.
\n33Then the torrents of Belial shall burst forth to Abaddon,
\nand the schemers of the deep shall roar
\nwith a clamor of those who spew mire.
\nThe earth 34will cry out against the destruction that is coming upon the world,
\nand all of her schemers will shake.
\nAll who are (live) in her will go insane,
\n35and they shall melt away in the gr[ea]t destruction.<\/p>\n
\nand his holy dwelling shall roar forth with the truth of his glory!
\n36And the heavenly hosts shall raise their voice
\nand the foundations of the world shall melt and tremble.
\nAnd the war of the mighty ones 37of heaven shall spread into the world.
\nAnd it will not relent until an annihilation.
\nIt has been determined for eternity,
\nand (there will be) nothing like it! [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have become my strong wall
\n39[and you have delivered me from al]l destroyers
\nand all [ ]
\nbecause you conceal me from the threats of destruction
\n40[ ] iron bars [ ] it shall never come [ ]
\n41[ ] in the mysteries of [ ]
\n42[ ] in its environs lest [ ]
\n12:1[ ]
\n2[sages in] their [prudence] and I, in my grasping [onto your co]v[enant]
\n3[ ] [ ]
\n4[and] you set my foot upon a rock and you turned my step away from the w[ay]
\n[my] step [ ]
\n5[ ] on the eternal way
\nand on the paths that you have chosen (for) my step [ ] [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have illumined my face for your covenant, and [ ]
\n7[ ] I seek you.
\nAnd like the enduring dawn,
\nyou have revealed yourself to me as [per]fect light.
\nBut they, your people, [ ].
\n8In [their] mist [ake
\nand they flatter themselves with words,
\nand mediators of deceit have led them astray.
\nAnd they have been trampled down without knowing (it).
\nFor [ ] 9their works are (done) by deception,
\nfor I am hated by them,
\nand they did not consider me when you showed your power through me.
\nFor he has banished me from my land, 10like a bird from a nest.
\nAnd all of my friends and my relatives have been banished from me.
\nThey consider me as a broken vessel.
\nBut they are mediators of 11a lie and seers of deceit,
\nthey have plotted Belial against me
\nto exchange your Torah that you impressed on my heart
\nfor flattering words 12for your people.
\nAnd they withhold the drink of knowledge from thirsty ones,
\nand for their thirst they give them vinegar to drink,
\nin order to gaze upon 13their error,
\nreeling wildly at their festivals,
\ncapturing (them) in their traps.<\/p>\n
\nand it is your counsel that will arise,
\nand the plan of your heart shall be secure forever.
\nBut they are liars who plot the plan of Belial
\n15and they seek you with a double heart;
\nthey are not firm in your truth.
\nIn their plans is a root producing poison and wormwood.
\n16And with their stubborn heart
\nthey look about and search for you among idols.
\nThey have put their own stumbling block of iniquity in front of themselves.
\nAnd they come 17seeking you
\nfrom the mouth of lying prophets who have been lured by error.
\nAnd with a mo[c]king lip and foreign tongue, they speak to your people
\n18in order to scoff deceitfully at all their deeds.
\nFor they have neither chosen the wa[y of] your [heart] nor obeyed your word,
\nfor they said 19concerning the vision of knowledge, \u201cIt is uncertain!\u201d
\nand concerning the way of your heart, \u201cThat is not it!\u201d
\nFor you, O God, will answer them
\njudging them 20by your strength
\n[according to] their idols
\nand according to their abundant transgressions,
\nso that those who devote themselves turn away from your covenant may become ensnared by their own schemes.
\n21And you shall cut (them) off ju[st]ly!
\nAll the people of deceit and seers of error shall no longer be found.
\nFor there is no deception in any of your works,
\n22and no deceit in the plan of your heart.
\nAnd those who are like you yourself shall stand before you forever.
\nAnd those who walk in the way of your heart 23shall be established always.
\n[And] I, when holding fast to you, I am helped up
\nSo that I stand tall over those who have rejected me;
\nand my hands are against all those who despise me.
\nFor 24they will not consider [me] [unt]il
\nyour strengthening power is within me
\nand you appear to me in your power as perfect light.
\nYou do not cover with shame the faces 25of all tho[s]e who are sought by me,
\nthe ones who meet in the yahad for your covenant.
\nAnd the ones who walk in the way of your heart have listened to me.
\nAnd they line up for you 26in the council of the holy ones.
\nYou make their judgment go forth splendidly;
\nand truth is for the upright ones.
\nYou will not let them be misled by wretched ones
\n27as they plot against them.
\nYou will put fear of them upon your people
\nand (they will become) a war club to all the peoples of the lands,
\ncutting off in judgment all 28those who transgress your command.
\nAnd through me you have illumined the face of the Many
\nand you have strengthened (them) innumerable times.
\nFor you have conferred knowledge on me
\nabout the mysteries of 29your wonder,
\nand about the secret of your wonder.
\nYou have strengthened my standing;
\nperforming wonders before the Many
\nfor the sake of your glory,
\nIn order to make 30your mighty deeds known to every living being.
\nWho is a mortal like this?
\nAnd what vessel of clay can magnify wonders?
\nHe is in iniquity 31from the womb,
\nand in the guilt of treachery until old age.
\nI know that no mortal has righteousness,
\nand no son of Adam has the perfect 32way.
\nTo God Most High belong all works of righteousness!
\nAnd a mortal way is not firmly established
\nexcept by the spirit that God has fashioned for him;
\n33perfecting a way for the sons of Adam
\nso that all of his creatures might know
\nthe power of his strength,
\nAnd the abundance of his mercies are upon all the sons 34of his will.<\/p>\n
\nand all my bones are shattered.
\nMy heart melts like wax before a fire,
\nand my knees buckle 35like water rushing down a slope.
\nBecause I remember my guilty deeds along with the treachery of my ancestors,
\nwhen the wicked rose up against your covenant
\n36and the wretched ones were against your word.
\nAnd I said, \u201cIn my rebellion, I have been forsaken by your covenant.\u201d
\nBut, upon remembering the power of your hand
\nwith 37the abundance of your mercies,
\nI am helped up and stood tall
\nand my spirit grew strong enough to withstand affliction.
\nFor [I] depend upon 38your kindnesses
\nand upon the abundance of your mercies.
\nBecause you atone for iniquity
\nand purif[y] a mortal from guilt by your righteousness.
\n[My G]od, 39everything that you have done
\nis for your own sake and not for man!
\nFor you created both the righteous and the wicked [ ]
\n40[ ] I will hold fast to your covenant until [ ]
\n41[ ] for you are truth and all [your] w[orks] are righteousness [ ]
\n13:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3to the day of cursed anger [ ]
\n4your pardons and the abundance [of] your mercies,
\n5and in my knowing these things, [I was] comforted by your truth [ ]
\n6concerning the command of your will and through you a judgment of them all [ ]<\/p>\n
\nfor you did not forsake me when I sojourned among a foreign people
\n[ ] according to my guilt 8you judged me.
\nNor did you forsake me to the wickedness of my inclinations,
\nbut you have helped my life from destruction.
\nYou have given me [es]cape
\nin the midst of 9lions who are appointed for the children of guilt;
\nlions, who grind the bones of the mighty ones
\nand drink the blo[od] of warriors.
\nYou put me 10in a dwelling with many fishermen
\nwho spread out (their) net on the surface of the water,
\nand with those who hunt for the children of injustice.
\nThere 11you have established me for judgment,
\nyou have encouraged in my heart the counsel of truth,
\nfrom this is a covenant for those who seek it.<\/p>\n
\nwhose 12teeth are like a sword,
\nand whose fangs are like a sharp spear.
\nAll their plans for abduction are the venom of serpents;
\nthey lie in wait but they have not 13opened their mouths against me.
\nBecause you are my God!
\nYou have concealed me from the sons of Adam,
\nand your Torah you have hidden in [me]
\nuntil the moment of 14the revealing of your salvation to me.
\nFor during my soul\u2019s distress you did not forsake me,
\nbut you heard my anguished cry in the bitterness of my soul;
\n15and you recognized the tune of my woes in my groaning;
\nand you rescued my poor soul from a den of lions
\nwho sharpen their tongue like a sword.<\/p>\n
\nYou shut their {tongues} teeth,
\nlest they shred the soul{s} of the poor and destitute;
\nand their tongue is drawn in 17like a sword into its scabbard,
\nso that the life of your servant is not [cut o]ff.
\nAnd so that you might magnify me before the sons of Adam.
\nYou have dealt wonderfully 18with the oppressed.
\nYou have brought him to the te [st
\nlike g]old being worked by fire,
\nand like silver being refined in the crucible of the silversmiths
\nto a sevenfold purity.
\n19But the wicked of the peoples rush against me with their afflictions,
\nand all day long they crush my soul. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nYou turn my soul a storm into stillness;
\nand you deliver the soul of the oppressed
\nlike a bir[d from a trap
\nand] like prey from the mouth of lions.<\/p>\n
\nfor you have not abandoned the orphan,
\nand you have not despised the poor!
\nFor your strength [is without boun]ds
\nand your glory 23is without measure.
\nWondrous warriors are your ministers,
\nand a humbled people are in the sweepings at yo[ur] feet
\n[together] with those impatient for 24righteousness
\nin order to lift (them) up from chaos
\ntogether with all of those lacking grace.
\nBut as for me, I was against [ ],
\nfor a dispute 25and contentions to my friends,
\njealousy and anger belong to those who enter into my covenant,
\na grumble and a complaint to all of my comrades.
\nEv[en those who ea]t my bread
\n26have lifted up their heel against me,
\nand all those who have committed themselves to my counsel
\nspeak perversely against me with unjust lips.
\nThe men of my [coun]cil rebel 27and grumble round and round
\nabout the mystery that you hid in me.
\nThey slander (me) to the children of destruction,
\nbecause [ you] have magni[fled yourself] in me.
\n28And on account of their guilt,
\nyou have concealed a spring of understanding
\nand the counsel of truth.
\nBut they devise destruction (in) their heart.
\nThe wor[ds of] Belial unleash 29a lying tongue
\nlike the poison of serpents darting out continuously.
\nLike those who crawl in the dust,
\nthey lash out in order to ambu[sh].
\nThe p[oisons] of vipers 30have no remedy.
\nAnd it has become an incurable pain
\nand a tormenting agony in the bowels of your servant,
\nmaking [(his) spiri]t stumble
\nand finishing off 31(his) strength
\nso that he cannot take hold of (his) station.
\nThey overtook me in narrow straits without shelter,
\nwithout separating from fami[ly ties.]
\nThey clamor 32a dispute against me on the lyre,
\nand their grumbling is joined together with taunt songs.
\nWith ruin and desolation, burning pains sei[ze me]
\nand pangs like the contractions of 33one giving birth.
\nMy heart clamors in me;
\nI am clothed in a mourning garment,
\nand my tongue clings to the roof of {my} mouth,
\nfor they have surrounded me with the destructive thoughts of their heart,
\nand their desire 34has appeared to me as bitterness.
\nThe light of my countenance dimmed into darkness,
\nand my splendor switched into gloom. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nBut they continue to grieve (me),
\nand they surround me all around with deep darkness,
\nMy grief feeds heartily and
\n36drinks endless tears.
\nFor my eyes are weakened by anger,
\nand my soul by daily bitterness.
\nMisery and sorrow 37surround me,
\nand shame is upon (my) face.
\nMy bread has been turned into strife,
\nand my drink into a master of disputes.
\nIt enters my bones,
\n38making (my) spirit stumble
\nand finishing off (my) strength.
\nIn accordance with the mysteries of transgression,
\nthey misconstrue the works of God with their guilt.<\/p>\n
\nand with fetters that cannot be broken.
\nA strong wall [around me] and iron bars
\nand doors of [bronze that have no] 40[opening].
\nMy jail cell is with the abyss;
\n{I am} considered without [ ] [ ]
\n41[and the torrents of] Belial engulf my soul without (the hope of) [es]c[ape]
\n14:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5My heart with contempt in my mouth [ ]
\n6and unfathomable destruction and immeasur [able] annihilation
\n[and you are my God! ]
\n7You have opened my ears in the disci[p]line
\nof those who reprove righteousness
\nwith [ ]
\n8from a congregation of fraud and a council of violence.
\nAnd you have brought me into the council of [the holy] guilt.
\n9And I know there is a miqveh for those who turn away from wickedness,
\nand for those who abandon sin in [ ]
\nto walk about 10in the way of your heart without iniquity.
\nI am comforted against the roar of the people
\nand against the clamor of kingdoms
\nwhen they gather themselves together [for] my [sal]vation.
\nwhich 11you will raise up.
\nA few survivors among your people
\nand a remnant among your inheritance,<\/p>\n
\nFor all 12their deeds are by your truth,
\nand by your kindness you will judge them
\nwith an abundance of mercies and much forgiveness;
\nteaching them according to your word
\n13and establishing them according to your upright truth
\nin your council for your glory.
\nFor your own sake [ you] have worked to magnify the Torah [and truth]
\nfor [ ]
\n14The people of your council are in the midst of the sons of Adam,
\nin order to recount your wonders to successive generations
\nand [to med]itate on [your] mighty works 15without rest.
\nAnd all the peoples shall know your truth
\nand all nations your glory.
\nFor you have brought [ ] and your secret
\n16to all the men of your counsel,
\nand in the lot together with the angels of presence,
\nwithout a mediator between [your] h[oly ones
\nto] reply 17according to the spirit
\nfor [ ] [ ]
\nand they will repent at your glorious word,
\nand they shall become your princes in the [eternal] lo[t
\nand] their [trunk], 18 sprouts like a flower blo[ssoming for] eternal glory,
\nto raise up a shoot into the branches of an eternal planting.
\nAnd it will cast shade over the entire world
\nand its [branches] 19(will reach) as far as the clou [ds]
\nand its roots (will stretch) as far as the abyss,
\nAnd all the rivers of Eden [shall] w[ater] its [b]r[an]ches.
\nAnd so it shall become (broad like) seas wi[thout] 20measure.
\nAnd they (i.e., the branches) shall be entwined endlessly over the world
\nand as far as Sheol; [ ]
\n[and] the spring of light shall become an everlasting font 21without fail.
\nIn its bright flames all the child[ren of injustice] shall burn,
\n[and it shall] become a fire burning against all the men of 22guilt
\nuntil (they are) finished off.
\nAnd they who joined my testimony are seduced
\nby the medi[ators of error to] bring a stranger in the service of righteousness.
\n23But you, O God, have commanded them
\nto profit from their ways, on a path of holine[ss] on which [they walked];
\nbut the uncircumcised, the unclean, and the violent 24may not travel upon it.
\nThey stagger away from the way of your heart,
\nand in the destructiveness of [their] tr[ansgression] they [stumble];
\nBelial is like a counselor 25with their heart
\n[the]y [determine a wicked scheme and wallow in guilt.<\/p>\n
\nTheir waves and all their crashing tides break over me.
\nA wind of distortions roars
\n[without] calm to restore a soul
\nand without any 27paths to a straight way on the face of the waters.
\nThe abyss roars to my groaning
\nand [my soul] approac[hes] the gates of death.
\nI become 28like one who enters a fortified city
\nand seeks shelter behind a high wall until (his) escape.
\nI lea[n] on your truth, my God!
\nFor you 29lay a foundation upon rock,
\nand (lay) a beam upon the plumb line of judgment
\nand (lay) the level of tru[th] to [m]ake tested stones
\nfor a 30strong building that will not wobble back and forth.
\nAll who enter it shall not stagger.
\nFor the stranger may not enter her [gat]es;
\narmored doors have no 31entrance;
\nand strong bars will not shatter!
\nA troop may not enter with its weapons of war;
\nan army (may not enter) to finish off all the arrows of 32wars of wickedness.
\nThen the sword of God will hasten at the moment of judgment.
\nAnd all the sons of his truth shall awaken to cut off 33wickedness,
\nand none of the sons of guilt will be any longer.
\nThe warrior shall draw his bow,
\nand open up the fortresses of the heavens 34as an endless plain without end.
\nAnd (open up) the eternal gates to bring out the weapons of war,
\nand they shall be mighty from one end of the world to the other.
\nAnd arrows 35shall rain down!
\nBut there is no escape for a guilty creature,
\nthey shall be squashed to oblivion without a remnant and without hope
\namong the abundant corpses,
\n36and there is no escape for all the warriors of wars. [blank]<\/p>\n
\n37O you who lie in the dust, raise the standard!
\nAnd the worms of the dead lift a banner for [ ].
\nThey cut [ ] 38in the battles of the arrogant.
\nAnd he makes the rising flood pass by,
\nit must not enter the fortified city! [ ]
\n39[ ] [ ] for plaster and as a beam for [ ]
\n40truth [ ]
\n41[ ]
\n15:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ] As for me, I am speechless from their destr[uctiveness] these things
\nthey have reviled me.
\n5[ar]m is shattered at the shoulder,
\nand my foot sinks into the mire!
\nMy eyes are blinded from seeing 6evil,
\nmy ears from hearing of bloodshed,
\nand my heart is dismayed because of evil plotting.
\nFor Belial is with (them); the form of their destruction is revealed.
\n7All the foundations of my frame shake,
\nand my bones become rattled,
\nand my bowels heave like a ship in a raging 8storm.
\nMy heart pounds noisily to the destruction,
\nand a whirling wind overwhelms me from the destructiveness of their rebellion. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have supported me with your might,
\nand the spirit of 10your holiness you have spread out over me
\nso that I will not falter.
\nYou have strengthened me before the wars of wickedness,
\nand despite all their devastation,
\n11you have not (let me be frightened) from your covenant.
\nYou made me like a strong tower, like a high wall.
\nUpon a rock you have established 12my frame,
\nand eternal foundations are my foundation.
\nAll of my walls are a tested wall, which does not shake.<\/p>\n
\nhave appointed me as a counsel of holiness for the weary.
\nAnd you [have strengthened] m[e] by your covenant
\nand my tongue is like your teachings.
\n14But there is no word for the spirit of destructions,
\nnor a reply of the tongue for any of the children of guilt.
\nFor lips shall be silenced, 15lying lips,
\nfor all who attack me you will condemn to judgment,
\nin order to distinguish between (the) righteous and (the) wicked through me.<\/p>\n
\nand you recognize every reply of the tongue.
\nYou have established my heart 17[according to] your [te]achings and your truth,
\nstraightening my steps toward the paths of righteousness,
\nso that (I) may walk about in your presence
\nin the domain of 18[the liv]ing
\nto paths of glory {and life} and peace
\nwithout t[urning and] with [out] ceasing forever.<\/p>\n
\nthat not [ ] his support to exalt [his] heart,
\n20strengthening with power
\nand I have no refuge of flesh [ ]
\no righteous deeds to save (me) from [ ]
\n21[with]out forgiveness.<\/p>\n
\nand on the abundance of] your kindness I wait,
\nin order to bloom 22like a plant, to flourish (like) a shoot,
\nstrengthening with power and [
\nfor in] your righteousness you have positioned me 23for your covenant,
\nand I hold onto your truth.<\/p>\n
\nand you have made me a father to the sons of kindness
\n24and as a nursemaid to men of portent.
\nThey open (their) mouth wide
\nlike a nu[rsing infant],
\nlike a child delighting in the bosom of 25its nursemaid.
\nAnd you have exalted my horn over all who despise me,
\nand the entire[rem]nant of the men at battle against me are sc[attered].
\nThose who 26prosecuted me are like chaff before the wind,
\nand my dominion is over those who scorn me because [you] are my God!
\nYou have helped my soul,
\nand you exalt my horn 27ever higher.
\nI am radiant in sevenfold light,
\nin l[ight that] you have [esta]blished for your glory. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nand you establish my foot upon leve[l ground forever] [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have given me insight into your truth,
\n30and you have made known the mysteries of your wonder to me.
\nAnd your kindness to a[rebellious] man
\nand the multitude of your compassion to those twisted of heart.
\n31Who is like you among the angels, O LORD?
\nAnd who can compare with your truth?
\nAnd who would be righteous before you,
\nwhen he is being judged?
\nAnd none 32of the spiritual hosts can answer your reproof,
\nand none can stand before your anger.
\nBut all the sons 33of your truth you bring before you in forgiveness,
\ncleansing them from their rebellions with the multitude of your goodness,
\nand with the abundance of your m[e]rcies,
\n34making them stand before you forever and ever. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nand all your ways are ordained for eternity 35without end;
\nthere is none except you!
\nAnd what is a man\u2014formless and a master of vanity\u2014
\nto consider clearly the 36great works of your wonder? [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have neither cast my lot in the worthless assembly
\nnor have you set my portion in the council of the pretenders.
\n38Instead you call me to your kindness and [your] pardo[ns]
\nand [you] br[ing] me into the abundance of your mercies
\nfor all judgments of 39[righteousness]
\nand I am an] uncl[ean] [ma]n
\n[and from the womb of the one who conceived me in treacherous guilt
\nand from the breasts of my mother], (I am) in iniquity
\nand in the bosom of 40[my nurse, (I am bound) to an abundance of impurity,
\nand from my youth (I am) in bloodshed
\nand until (my) old age, (I am) in the iniquity of flesh.
\n[But yo]u, my God,
\n41[you have established my foot on the path of your heart.
\nAnd you have opened my ears to the reports of your wonders
\n(so that) my heart understands] your truth.
\n16:1[ I deafened (my) ear to your teachings until you instructed me]
\nand a perverted spirit] 2[without knowledge, you expelled from within me.
\n[and heaviness of heart and not for me any longer]
\n3a stumbling block of iniquity.
\nBecause you have revealed your salvation]
\nand your righteousness endures forever!
\nBecause Ad [am]\/mort[al does not have his way]
\n4you have do[ne all of these things for your glory. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you set me at the source of flowing waters in a dry land,
\n(at) a spring of water in a parched land,
\n(at) a watered 6garden and (at) a pool [ ].
\nThe field is a planting of cypress and evergreen together with pine for your glory.
\nTrees of 7life are hidden at the secret spring, among all the trees by the water.
\nThey will make a shoot sprout for the eternal planting,
\n8(they will) make (it) root before they make a shoot,
\nand they extend their roots unto the strea[m].
\nAnd its stump is opened to the living water
\n9which will become an eternal fountain.
\nAll the be[a]sts of the forest shall feed upon the shoot (growing) on it.
\nAnd (the base of) its stump (shall become) a trampling place
\nfor all those who pass along the way.
\n10And its branch will belong to every winged bird.
\nAll the tre[es] by the water tower over it.
\nWhile in their planting they grow tall,
\n11they cannot extend (their) root toward the stream.
\nAnd the one who causes the shoot of h[o]liness
\nto sprout into a planting of truth
\nis hidden. 12Because he is neither considered, nor known, his mystery is sealed. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nwith the mystery of powerful warriors,
\n13spirits of holiness and a whirling fiery flame,
\nlest a stra[nger approach] the spring of life,
\nand 14drink the waters of holiness with the eternal trees and bear its fruit with the planting of the heavens.
\nFor the one who sees does not perceive,
\n15and the one who thinks does not believe in the source of life,
\nAnd so he gives away the cr[o]p of the eternal blossom.
\nBut as for me, I became the insult of overflowing torrents,
\n16for they expel their mire over me. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nand like a spring of living waters that will not fail to open.
\n18The heavens will not abate.
\nThey will become a brook that bubbles ov[er all the trees of] water
\nand then into immeasur [able] seas.
\n19The things that are hidden away in secret will burst forth suddenly [ ]
\nand they will become flo[od] waters (for every tree, both) 20green and dry;
\na deep pool for every beast and bi[rd]
\nLike lead in might[y] waters, [ ]
\n21in sparks of fire they dry up.
\nBut the planting of fruit [ ] eternal [f]ont,
\nglory and [everlasting] splen[dor] belong to Eden.
\n22And by my hand you have opened their font with [its] ditches [ ]
\nto turn upon the proper line,
\nand the planting 23of their trees is along the plumb-line of the sun
\n[ ] for a splendid branch.
\nWhen I extend my hand to dig 24its ditches,
\nits roots break into the flinty rock
\nand [ ] their rootstock into the earth.
\nAnd so in the time of heat it maintains 25its strength.
\nBut if I withdraw my hand,
\nit shall become like a junip[er in the wilderness].
\nIts rootstock like prickly shrubs in a desolate place.
\nIts ditches 26shall produce thorns and thistles;
\nbriars and [weeds] [on] its banks turn into worthless trees.
\nBefore 27the heat, its leaves droop
\nand it is not rejuvenated by the spri[ng of water]<\/p>\n
\nand (my) heart k[no]ws 28agonies.
\nI have become like a forsaken man
\nby [ ] There is no refuge for me!
\nFor my agony bursts 29into bitterness,
\nand an incurable pain! No strength is retained,
\n[and trou]ble was upon me
\nlike those who go down into Sheol.
\nAnd among 30the dead my spirit searches,
\nwhen [my] li[fe] goes down to the Pit [ ]
\nMy soul is weary day and night 31without rest.
\nAnd it (my agony) bursts forth like a raging fire,
\ncontained within [my] b[ones].
\nFor days its flame consumes,
\n32finishing off (my) strength to (its) limits,
\nand destroying my flesh in due time.
\nCrashing waves soar over me,
\n33and my soul sinks down in me to complete destruction
\nFor my strength has abandoned my body.
\nMy heart is poured out like water,
\n34and my flesh is melted like wax.
\nThe strength of my loins has become a disaster.
\nMy arm is shattered at the elbow,
\n[and I am un][able] to wave my hand.
\n35My [foo]t is bound in shackles,
\nmy knees buckle like water,
\nunable to take a step.
\nThere is no sound to my footfall.
\n36They bound my strong arm with fetters of hindrance.
\nAnd the tongue that you had strengthened in my mouth, is no longer;
\nIt is unable to raise 37a sound and (unable) to announce teachings to revive the spirit of those who stumble,
\nand (unable) to assist the weary with a word.
\nThe sound of my lips is silenced 38by horror. The tablet of my heart is (set) on a judgment line [ ]
\n[ ]bitterness [ ] heart [ ] dominion
\n39among the creatur[es] and [I so]ul is engulfed
\n40[their] wisdom[m] they are silent as one without
\n41[ ] a human without \u2026
\n17:1[ ] darkness [ ]
\n2[appe]ars for disputes by night and [ ]
\n3[ ] without compassion.
\nIn anger he stirs up mistrust and completely [ ]
\n4The breakers of death and Sheol are over my couch.
\nMy bed raises up a lament,
\n[and my pallet] a sound of misery.
\n5My eyes (burn) like a fire in a furnace,
\nand my weeping (flows) like rivers of water.
\nMy eyes fail to rest, my [strength] stands 6far from me,
\nand my life has been set aside.<\/p>\n
\nfrom ruin to desolation,
\nfrom pain to agony,
\nand from travails 7to torments,
\nmy soul meditates on your wonders.
\nIn your kindness you have not rejected me.
\nTime 8and time again
\nmy soul deli[g]hts in the abundance of your mercies.
\nI give a reply to those who confound me,
\n9and reproof to those who humiliate me.
\nI will condemn his verdict,
\nbut your judgment I honor,
\nfor I know 10your truth!
\nI shall choose my judgment,
\nand I am patient with my afflictions,
\nbecause I wait for your kindness.
\nYou have placed 11a supplication in the mouth of your servant,
\nand you have not rebuked my life,
\nnor have you removed my well-being.
\nNor have you forsaken 12my hope,
\nbut in the face of affliction you have restored my spirit.
\nFor you have established my spirit and know my deliberations.
\n13In my distress you have soothed me,
\nand I delight in (your) forgiveness.
\nI shall be comforted for (my) former sin.
\n14I know that there is hope in your kindness,
\nand an expectation in the abundance of your power.
\nFor no one is justified 15in your jud[g]ment,
\nand no one is bl[ameless in] your litigation.
\nOne man may be more righteous than another,
\nor one person may be wiser [than his fell]ow,
\n16and flesh may be honored more than a creature of c[lay],
\nand one spirit may surpass another spirit;
\nbut as for your mighty str[ength], no 17power can compare.
\nYour glory has no [bounds,
\nand] your wisdom has no measure,
\nand [your] truth has [ ];
\n18and everyone who has been forsaken has [ ]
\n[blank]<\/p>\n
\nand not [ ] against the men of my strife [ ].
\n20And when they plot [ ] against me,
\n[ ] and if the face shows shame [ ] 21mine.
\nAnd you [ ] my adversary will not prevail against me
\nfor a stumbling block to [ ]
\n[A]ll 22the men of wa[r against me and the leaders of strife against me
\nhave a] face [that is ashamed];
\nand those who grumble against me have a reproach. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nFor in the mystery of your wisdom you reprove me;
\n24and you hide the truth until the [moment of] its appointed time.
\nYour chastisement will become a joy and gladness to me,
\n25and my agonies will become an et[ernal] healing and everlasting [well-being];
\nthe contempt of my enemies will become my glorious crown;
\nand my stumbling (will become my) eternal strength.
\n26For by [your] insight [you have instructed me]
\nand my light shines forth by means of your glory.
\nFor you make light 27shine from darkness for (me);
\n[to heal] my wounds;
\nfor my stumbling, a wonderful strength;
\nan infinite space 28for the distress of [my] soul.
\n[You are] my place of refuge, my stronghold,
\nthe rock of my strength and my fortress.
\nIn you 29I take refuge from all the pain [of my soul;
\nyou save] me for an eternal escape.
\nFor you from my father 30have known me,
\nfrom the womb [you have hallowed me,
\nfrom the belly of] my mother you have rendered good to me,
\nfrom the breasts of she who conceived me,
\nyour compassion 31has been mine.
\nAnd in the embrace of my nurse [ ] and from my youth
\nyou have shined the insight of your judgment on me.
\n32With a sure truth you have supported me,
\nand by your holy spirit you have delighted me;
\neven until this day [ ].
\n33your righteous chastisement is with my [ ]
\nand the protection of your peace delivers my soul.
\nWith my steps is 34a multitude of pardons and an abundance of [mer]cies
\nwhen you enter into judgment with me.
\nUntil old age you shall provide for me,
\nfor 35my father did not know me,
\nand my mother abandoned me to you.
\nFor you are a father to all the sons of your truth,
\nand you rejoice 36over them as a loving mother over her nursing child.
\nAs a guardian with his embrace,
\nyou provide for all your creatur[es].
\n37full blank line [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor [ ]
\nyou have increased without num[ber]
\n39[and to prai]se your name when doing exceedingly wonderful things [ ]
\n40[with]out ceasing [ ]
\n41[ and according to] his insight, he shall praise [your name] 18:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[through] your thought e[verything] shall come into being;
\n[and] by the plan of your heart, you shall establish (it)
\n[and apart from you], 4nothing [is done].
\nand without your will, nothing will be;
\nand nothing is understood without [your] wis[dom
\n5and nothing is seen without the [secret] of your mysteries. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nHe is but dirt, 6pinched off c[lay],
\nand to dust he shall return;
\nthat you should give him insight into wonders such as these,
\n7and that you should make him know the counsel of [your] tru[th]? [blank]<\/p>\n
\nwhat can I plan unless you delight in it?
\nWhat can I consider for myself, 8apart from your will?
\nHow can I strengthen myself, unless you position me?
\nHow can I understand, unless you have formed it 9for me?
\nWhat can I say, unless you have opened my mouth?
\nAnd how can I reply, unless you have given me insight? [blank]<\/p>\n
\nLORD of every spirit and Ruler over every creature.
\n11Apart from you nothing is done,
\nnor does anyone know without your will.
\nThere is no one except you;
\n12and there is no one with you in strength;
\nand there is no one comparable to your glory;
\nand as for your strength, there is no price!
\nAnd who 13among all the great creatures of your wonder
\ncan maintain the strength to position himself before your glory?
\n14And what then is he, who returns to his dust,
\nthat he should maintain (his) str[en]gth?
\nOnly for your glory have you done all of these things!<\/p>\n
\nfor you have made [th]e[se things] known to me
\nso that I might declare 17your wondrous works,
\nand not keep silent day and night.
\n[ ] All power is yours [ ] 18for your kindness;
\nin the greatness of your goodness and abun[dance of compassion.
\nI] shall delight in [your] p[ardons],
\n19for I lean upon your truth [ ] your [ ]
\n[and] there is no [ ] without 20your [ ]
\nand without yo[ur] hand, there is no judgment;
\nand without] your rebuke there is no stumbling [
\nand there is no] 21affliction without your knowing
\nand n[othing is done without] your [wil]l. [blank]<\/p>\n
\n[shall sing in praise of your kindness],
\nand when I gaze upon your glory, I shall recount 23your wonders.
\nAnd when I understand the c[ounsel of your wonder,
\nI shall await] the [a]bundance of your mercies;
\n24and I shall hope for your pardons.
\nFor you formed the spi[rit of your servant
\nand] you established me [as] your [wil]l. [blank]<\/p>\n
\n[violence not] my [hea]rt
\nand you have not made the form of flesh my refuge.
\n26The strength of the mighty (rests) upon an abundance of luxuries;
\nand they will delight in] an abundance of corn, new wine, and oil.
\n27They will exalt themselves with acquisition and possession.
\n[And they shall bloom like a ve]rdant [tree] by the watercourses,
\nbearing leaves 28and producing many branches.
\nFor you have chosen [them from all the sons of] Adam,
\nSo that all may fatten themselves from the land.<\/p>\n
\nand according to their knowledge they are glorified, 30each man over the other.
\nThus for the son of Adam [
\nin ma]n, you have enlarged his inheritance 31in the knowledge of your truth.
\nAnd according to his knowledge and [his]
\n[becau]se the soul of your servant abhors wealth 32and profit,
\nand in the abundance of luxuries [he has] not [ ]
\nfor my heart rejoices in your covenant,
\nand your truth 33delights my soul.
\nI shall bloom as a lily, and my heart is opened to the eternal font.
\n34My support (rests) on a refuge from on high,
\nand [ ] toil,
\nand as a flower withers before a wind
\n35my heart reels in anguish and my loins tremble.
\nMy groaning reaches the depths
\n36and completely searches out the chambers of Sheol.
\nI am terrified when I hear of your judgments with powerful warriors,
\n37and your dispute with the hosts of your saints in the heavens [ ]
\n38and judgment against all your creatures,
\nand righteousness [ ]
\n39[ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n19:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4in terror, disaster [ ] toil from my eyes;
\nand grief [ ] and in [ ] 5in the meditation of my heart. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nfor you have dealt wonderfully with dust,
\nand you have worked so very very powerfully with a creature of clay.<\/p>\n
\nFor 7you have [enlighten]ed me in the counsel of your truth,
\nand you have given me insight into your wonderful deeds.<\/p>\n
\nthe utterance of my lips (forms) the foundation of joyous song.
\nI shall sing of your kindness
\nand I will meditate on your strength all 9day long.
\nI will bless your name continually
\nand I will recount your glory among the sons of Adam;
\nin the abundance of your goodness 10my soul delights.<\/p>\n
\nyour mouth is truth and in your hand is righteousness;
\nin your thought 11is all knowledge and in your strength is all power;
\nand all glory is with you.
\nIn your anger are all the agonizing judgments,
\n12but in your goodness is an abundance of pardons,
\nand your compassion is for all the sons of your favor.
\nBecause you have made them know the counsel of your truth,
\n13and in the mysteries of your wonder you have given them insight.<\/p>\n
\nin order to sanctify him 14for you
\nfrom all abominations of filth and the guilt of unfaithfulness,
\nin order to unite wi[th] the sons of your truth; in the lot with 15your holy ones.
\nTo raise the dead
\nfrom the dust of worms up to the counsel of [your] t[ruth];
\nand from a perverse spirit up to your understanding;
\n16in order to position himself in place before you
\nwith the eternal hosts and spirits [of eternity];
\nand in order to be renewed with all that i[s] 17and will be
\nand with those who know in a single joyous song. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nI exalt you, my rock!
\nand in the doing of wonders [ ]
\n19[ ] for you have made known to me the counsel of truth;
\nand [you have given me insight] into the myster[ies of wonder;
\nand you have made me understand your wondrous deeds;
\n20and you have revealed to me [yo]ur [wondr]ous works;
\nand so I will gaze upon [ ] kindness.
\nAnd I know 21[tha]t righteousness is yours,
\nand by your kindness [they] are judged [ ]
\nand annihilation without your compassion.
\n22But as for me, a font for bitter sorrow has been opened [ ]
\nand toil is not hidden from my eyes;
\n23when I knew the inclinations of a man,
\nand I un[derstood] the response of humankind
\n[and I recognized the lam]ent of sin and the agony of 24guilt.
\nThey enter into my heart and penetrate my bones.
\n[ ] and to sigh a lament
\n25and a groan on the lyre of lamentation for all grie[v]ous mourning [ ]
\n25grief and bitter wailing until injustice has ceased,
\nand the[re is no pain] and there is no affliction to make one weak.
\nAnd then 26I shall sing praises
\non the lyre of salvation,
\n(on) the harp of jo[y,
\n(on) the tambourine of rejoi]cing,
\n(on) the flute of praise without 27ceasing.
\nWho among all your creatures is able to recount al[l] your [wonders?]
\nAll of their mouths shall praise 28your name forever and ever.
\nThey shall bless you according to [their] insight
\n[and in all the end]s (of the earth) they shall declare
\ntogether 29with the sound of joyous song.
\nThere is neither grief nor groaning,
\nand injustice [shall be found] no [longer].
\nYou shall make your truth shine forth
\n30for eternal glory and everlasting peace. [blank]<\/p>\n
\n31the insight of knowledge to understand your wonders
\nand a[re]{p}[ly of the tongue to] recount the abundance of your kindness.
\n32Blessed are you, O God of compassion and grace
\nin accordance with your grea[t] p[o]wer
\nand the abundance of your truth,
\nand the plentitud[e] 33of your kindness among all your creatures.
\nGladden the soul of your servant with your truth
\nand cleanse me 34with your righteousness.
\nFor just as I waited for your goodness,
\nso I hope for your kindness and [your] pardon.
\n35You have opened up my shattering pains
\nand you have comforted me in my grief
\nfor I have depended upon your compassion.
\nBlessed are yo[u] 36O LORD,
\nfor you have worked these things,
\nand you place p[s]al[ms] of thanksgiving in the mouth of your servant [ ]
\n37and a supplication for favor as well as a suitable reply.
\nAnd you have established for me a wor[k of]
\n38And I shall maint[ain strength] [ ] [ ]
\n39And you [ ]
\n40[your] truth [ ]
\n[ ]
\n41and I [ ]
\n42[ ]
\n20:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\nmy soul is wide open [ ] [ ] [ ]
\n5[ ] in joy and [rejoicing and
\nI will dwel]l safely in a ho[ly] {p[eaceful]} dwelling,
\n[in] qui{e}tness and in ease 6[in pea]ce
\nand a blessing is in the tents of glory and salvation.
\nwill praise your name in the midst of those who fear you.<\/p>\n
\nto cast oneself down and pray for grace unceasingly;
\nfrom end to end with the coming of the light 8for [its] domini[on],
\nin the courses of the day according to its set plan
\nin accordance with the statutes of the great luminary;
\nat the turning of evening and the departure of 9light
\nat the beginning of the dominion of darkness;
\nat the appointed time of night.
\nThe turning of morning is in its circuits,
\nat the time 10of its gathering to its dwelling before the light,
\nfor the departure of the night and the arrival of the day.
\nContinually, in all 11the birthings of the seasons, is the foundation of time.
\nAnd the circuits of appointed times are (set) in their plan
\nby their signs, for all 12their dominion;
\n(they are) faithfully arranged according to the command of God.
\nAnd the testimony of that which exists; and it is that which shall be.
\n13There is nothing other, and beside it there was not,
\nand there will no longer be.
\nBecause the God of kn{o}wl{e}dge 14has determined it
\nand there is no other beside him. [blank]<\/p>\n
\nI have known you, O my God, by the spirit 15that you put in me,
\nand I have listened faithfully to your wondrous counsel
\nby the spirit of your holiness.
\n16You have [o]pened within me knowledge
\nin the mystery of your insight,
\nand a spring of [your] strength [ ]
\nin the midst 17[of those who fear yo]u
\nfor an abundance of kindness
\nbut a ruinous zeal and the ceasing [ ]
\n18[ ] in the majesty of your glory is for an etern[al] light [ ]
\n19[shall] fear wickedness, and there is no deceit [ ]
\n20[ ] appointed times of desolation. For there is no lo[nger]
\n21[ ] there is [n]o more insolence.
\nFor before yo[ur] anger [ ] 22[ ] they hasten.
\nThere is none righteous beside you [ ]
\nAnd 23[to] give insight in all your mysteries,
\nand to give an answer [concerning your judgments]
\n24in your reproach,
\nand they will watch for your goodness.
\nFor in [your] kindness [a]ll 25know you.
\nThey will rejoice at the time of your glory
\nand according to [
\nfo]r according to their insight 26you have brought them near,
\nand according to their dominion they serve you in [their] rank[s.
\n[neither] turning from you 27nor transgressing your word.
\nAs for me, [you] took [me] from dust.
\n[And] I was [pi]nched [from clay] 28for a font of filth and obscene shame,
\na pile of dust and kneaded [with water,
\na magg]ot [council] and an abode 29of darkness.<\/p>\n
\ndust 30[shall] return to the place whence he took it.
\nAnd what can dust and ashes reply [concerning your judgment?
\nAnd ho]w can it understand 31his [d]eeds?
\nAnd how can he position himself before the one who rebukes it?
\n[Ho]liness 32[ ] eternal,
\nand reservoirs of glory
\nand a font of knowledge
\nand a powerful [wond]er
\nbut they will 33[be ab]le neither to recount all your glory
\nnor position themselves before your anger,
\nand there is no answer to 34your chastisement.
\nFor you have been righteous and there is none comparable to you.
\nSo what then is the one who returns to his dust?
\n35And as for me, I am speechless.
\nWhat shall I say concerning this?
\nAccording to my knowledge I have spoken.
\nBut I am(?), a vessel of clay,
\nwhat 36could I say unless you open my mouth?
\nHow could I understand unless you confer understanding on me?
\nWhat can I s[ay] 37without you having revealed it to my heart?
\nHow can I walk a straight path unless [ you] direct [my] [s]teps?
\nHow 38can [my] step stand [without] (you) strengthen[ing] it with power?
\nHow could I get myself up [unless]?
\n39And all [ ] [ ]
\n40the [ ]
\n41as [ ]
\n42and [ ]
\n21:1[ ]
\n2[tra]nsgression of one born of a wo[man]
\n3[ ] and your righteousness
\n4[and] h[o]w can I recogniz[e] un[l]ess I have seen this?
\n5And (how) shall I understand these things
\nunless you have conferred understanding on me?
\nAnd ho]w shall I gaze unless you have uncovered my eyes?
\nAnd (how) shall I hear 6[unless]
\nmy [h]eart was made desolate
\nbecause a word was revealed to an uncircumcised ear,
\nand the heart 7[of stone shall understand w]ondrous things.
\nAnd I know that you have done these things for yourself, O my God!
\nWhat is flesh 8[for] to make wonderful.
\nAnd in your plan to empower and establish everything for your glory
\n9[ ]
\nBy the host of knowledge to recount powerful deeds to flesh,
\nand proper statutes to one who is born of 10[a woman]
\nyou have brought [ ] into a covenant with you
\nand you have revealed (to) a heart of dust to be careful
\n11[of] from the traps of judgment corresponding to your compassion.
\nAnd I am a creature 12[of clay and mixed with water;
\na framework of du]st and a heart of stone.
\nWith whom should I be reckoned until this?
\nFor 13[ ] you have [properly prepar]ed an ear of dust,
\nand you have engraved the things that will be eternally
\nonto the heart 14[of stone].
\nYou have ceased to bring into the covenant with you
\nin order to establish 15[in the judgments of eternities]
\nin an eternal abode for the light of the most perfect light, an eternal splendor;
\nand a sign of darkness 16[for there is no] end,
\nand times of peace are without li[mit]
\n17[ ] I am the creature of dust [ ]
\n18[and] I shall open [my] mouth [to bles]s your name, [ ]
\n19[ ] creature [ ]
\n20[dust a trap is concealed]<\/p>\n
\n[and in its paths are the snares of Abaddon]
\n22[ ] [ ] a way has been opened up [for walking about]
\n23on paths of peace
\nand with flesh to do wonders [like these for]
\n[lest] 24my steps walk upon the hiding places of traps
\nand [the places of] outspread n[ets and the heap of]
\n[ho]w 25shall I keep a creature of dust from being scattered
\nand in the m{i}dst of wax as it me[lts before the fire]
\n26and a heap of ash.
\nHow can I stand before the storm[y] wind? [
\nAs for me, he shall establish me]
\n27and he keeps him for the mysteries of his delight.
\nFor he knows [ ]
\n28[ ] annihilation,
\nand trap after trap, they hide snares of wickedness [
\n29[ ] with injustice, they will be finished off, every deceitful creature. Because to anger [ ]
\n30[knea]ded (with) evil and nothingness a creature of injustice and deeds of deceit [
\n31[ ] [blank]<\/p>\n
\n32[ ] How could he be strong before you?
\nYou are the God of knowledge;
\na[ll]
\n33[ ] you have made them,
\nand apart from you no [ ]
\n34[and I am a cr]eature of dust.
\nI know by means of the spirit that you put inside me
\nfor [ ]
\n35[ ] ever[y] injustice and deceit resides together,
\nfor an evildoer [ ]
\n36[all the de]eds of filth are for sicknesses,
\nagonizing judgments, and [everlasting] destruction [ ]
\n37[ ] anger is yours and aven[ging] zeal [ ]
\n38[ ] the creature of cl[ay]
\n39[ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n42[ ]
\n22:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5[holi]ness that is in the heavens
\n6[ ] great and it is the wonder;
\nbut they will be able neither 7to [understand these things
\nnor to recount] your [wonder]s.
\nAnd they are not able to keep from knowing everything 8[ ]
\n[he retu]rns to his dust.
\nI am a rebellious man and defiled 9[ ]
\n[ ] the guilt of wickedness.
\nAnd I, in the times of wrath 10[ ]
\n[to be] raised up in the face of affliction,
\nand to be careful 11[ ]
\n[you shall] make me [kno]w, O my God!
\nFor there is hope for a human being
\n12[ ] disloyalty.
\nAnd I am a creature of clay,
\nI lean 13upon [your ar]m [ ]
\n[ ] my feet.
\nAnd I know that 14your command is truth
\n[and no word of yours will be returned] for another;
\nand I, at my appointed time, I will take hold of
\n15[your] covenant [ ]
\nyou have made me stand in (my) position.
\nFor 16[ ] a human being,
\nand you restore him;
\nand in what [ ] 17[ ]
\n[ ] you are mighty [ ]
\n18[ ] without hop[e]
\n19[ ]
\nAnd I am a creature of [clay]<\/p>\n
\n21[ ] which [ ]
\n22[ev]ening and morning with the co[ming]
\n23[the afflictions of] people and some pain of [mortal]
\n24[you shall bri]ng out with joy [for] they watch [for pard]ons,
\nand upon their station, they [shall position themselves].
\n25[ ] And the volunteers were not fini[shed off]
\nfor you rebuke every adversary who ruins and [ ]
\n26for me,
\nfrom then, I established [ ],
\nand you yourself uncovered my ear [ ]
\n27[ ] he may not come for [ ].
\nAnd the men of the covenant were deceived by them.
\nAnd [he] shall enter 28into my building
\nand [my] bowels in rebukes before you;
\nI myself have feared your judgment;
\n29[befo]re you;
\nand who shall be blameless in your judgment?
\nAnd what then is h[e]
\n30[ ] I am in judgment.
\nAnd (he) returns to his dust,
\nwhat will he understa[nd]
\n31[for you are] my [G]od!
\nYou have opened my heart to your understanding,
\nand you uncovered [my] e[ars] 32[ ]
\n[ ] in order to lean upon your goodness.
\nBut my heart groans [ ]
\n33[ ]
\nand my heart is like wax melting because of transgression and sin.
\n34[until] its end.
\nBlessed are you, O God of knowledge,
\nthat you have determine[d] 35[ ]
\nand this matter has befallen your servant for your sake.
\nFor I know 36[ ]
\n[and for] your [kindness, I hope with all my being,
\nand I will bless your name always.
\n37[ ] hope for your servant;
\nand you will never forsake him in times of 38[ ]
\n[y]our [ ] and your glory and [your] go[odness]
\n39[ ] upon [ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n42[ ]<\/p>\n
\n2Your light, and you set the lumi[naries]
\n3your light without cea[sing]
\n4for with you is light for [ ]
\n5and you open the ear of dust [ ]
\n6a conspiracy that [ ]
\nand you establish it in the ea[rs of] 7your servant forever
\n[ ] the [re]ports of your wonder shine forth
\n8before the eyes of all who hear [ you].
\nWith your powerful right hand to save all of them
\n9by the strength of your might [ ] your name,
\nand he is magnified by [your] glor[y].
\n10Do not withdraw your hand [ ]
\nin order] that he may become one who holds fast to your covenant,
\n11and stands before you [ ].
\nYou have opened [a foun]tain in the mouth of your servant,
\nand on his tongue 12you have engraved the measuring line [ ]
\nto a]nnounce these things to the creature according to his understanding,
\nand to an interpreter, 13to dust like myself.
\nAnd you opened a foun[tain] to correct the way of the creature of clay,
\nand the guilt of one born 14of a woman according to his deeds;
\nthat he might open a fo[untain] of your truth
\nto the creature whom you have sustained with your strength.
\n15[ ] According to your truth, [ ] your goodness,
\nto bring news to the humble
\nin accordance with the abundance of your compassion,
\n16[ ] from the fountain [a distur]bed spirit and mourners to rejoice eternally.<\/p>\n
\n18[ ]
\n19[ ]
\n20[ ]
\n21[ ] they shall announce [ ]
\n22[ ] forever and your insight [ ]
\n23[ ] and in your land and among the sons of gods he shall be glorified [ ] that [ ]
\n24[ ] and to declare all your glory.<\/p>\n
\nFor from dust I was taken and [ ]
\n25[for] your [gl]ory you have done all these things.
\nAccording to the abundance of your steadfast love
\nappoint a guardian of your righteousness
\n26[ ] continually until the deliverance,
\nand mediators of knowledge for my every stride,
\nand reprovers of truth 27[ ] my steps
\nFor what is dust in [ ]?
\nAre they not ash in their hand?
\nBut you 28[creature of] clay,
\nand [ ] for your will;
\nand by the sons(?) you test me
\n29[ ] according to your greatness [ ]
\n[ ] its dust
\nand over dust you have stretched out a spirit 30[ ]
\n[ ] in the slime [the so]ns of gods,
\nto unite with the sons of heaven 31[ ]
\n[fo]rever
\nand the darkness has no response.
\nFor 32[ ]
\n[ ] and light you have revealed,
\nbut not to answer 33[ ]
\n[ ] you have stretched out your [spirit of ho]liness,
\nto atone for guilt 34[ ]
\n[m]inistering with your hosts,
\nand those walking about 35[ ]
\n[ ] from before you,
\nfor they are firm in your truth.
\n36[ ]
\nYou have done these things wonderfully for your glory,
\nand from righteousness 37[ ] injustice of a loathsome creature
\n38[a loa]thsome creature 39[ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n42[ ]
\n24:1[ ]
\n2[ ]
\n3[ ]
\n4[ ]
\n5[ ]
\n6[ ] a creature of flesh 7until the end of [ ]
\n[ ] your appointing 8in his judgment [ ]
\n[ ] for the angels of 9eternity in judgm[ent].
\n[ ] and the mysteries of transgression, changing 10flesh in [ ]
\n[ ] and they shall soar in it, all 11the angels of he[aven]
\n[ ] their [sourc]e on clouds of wind.
\nAnd you have humbled 12the gods from the foundation [ ]
\n[ ] your [ ] are in the dwelling of your glory.
\nAnd you are 13a mortal upon [ ]
\nimprisoned until the time of your will.
\n14[ ] sending [ ] heights of power
\nand the abundance of flesh to condemn 15at the time of [ ]
\n[ ] to determine in the counsel of your people
\n16[ ] the bastards,
\nfor [ ] 17[ ]
\n18[ ]
\n19[ ]
\n20[ ]<\/p>\n
\n22[ ] to destruction at the time of his punishment [ ]
\n23[ ] every adversary and destroyer [ ]
\n24[ ] in their wickedness, to send them away, a nation [ ]
\n25[ ] the arrogant man with those who increase [ ] o[ppression]
\nand in judgments 26[ ] in the flesh(?)
\nbecause to condemn all the spirits of bastards with flesh<\/p>\n
\nthus their spirit is for condemnation concerning 28[ ]
\n[ ] the wonder of your mysteries you have revealed to 29[ ]
\n[ ] I know I am flesh.
\n30For [ ] forever at the time of 31destr[uction]
\n[ ] and for every one who gazes 32[ ]
\n33[ ] and it is not hidden 33from before [ ]
\n[ ] you have [se]rved more than the children of 34God
\n[b]oundaries of nations, 35to strengthen them [ ]
\n[to mult]iply guilt 36in its portion [ ].
\nyou have forsaken them into the hand of 37all of [ ]
\n[ ] 38you will bring [ ]
\n[ ] 39against [ ]
\n40[ ]
\n41[ ]
\n42[ ]<\/p>\n
\n2[ ]
\n3[ judg]ment righteousness in [ ]
\n4[ ] he dispersed them from the position of [
\n5[ ] with the assembly of your holy ones in the wondrous doings [ ]
\n6forever and ever.
\nAnd the spirits of wickedness dwell [ ]
\n7evil shall no longer be.
\nAnd you will destroy the place of wick[edness ]
\nall 8the spirits of iniquity who will be devastated by grief [ ]
\n9it will stay for eternal generations.
\nAnd in the elevation of wickedness to [ ]
\n10their lamentation will multiply to destruction.
\nBut before all your works [ ]
\n[ ] 11your kindness,
\nand to know everything by your glory
\nand to [ ] [at the appointed t]ime
\nyou have made known 12the judgment of your truth.
\nAnd you have opened the ear of the flesh
\nand [you gave insight] to a mortal into the plan of 13your heart.
\nAnd you have made the time of testimony known to f[lesh.
\nThe heavenly [h]ost you shall judge in the heavens
\n14and the inhabitants of the land (you shall judge) in the land.
\nand also [in Sheo]l below, you shall j[u]dge
\nand with the inhabitants of 15darkness you will contend
\nin order to justify the just and to con[demn the wicked ]
\nfor no [ ] your [ ]
\n16and not to separate from [ ] your word [ ]
\n17for [ ]
\n18[ ]
\n19[ ]
\n20[ ]
\n21[ ]
\n22[ ]
\n23[ ]
\n24[ ]<\/p>\n
\n26respo[nse ]
\n27they shall be exal[ted ]
\n28counsel [ ]
\n29those who serve [ ]
\n30and they recognize them [ ]
\n31and praise [ ] like my knowing
\n32I recounted in the congreg[ation of ]
\n[yo]u are God, 33making known in the mouth of [ ]<\/p>\n
\n1Smaller was I than my brothers
\nand the youngest of the sons of my father,
\nSo he made me shepherd of his flock
\nAnd ruler over his kids.<\/p>\n
\nand my fingers a lyre;
\nAnd (so) have I rendered glory to the LORD,
\nthought I, within my soul.<\/p>\n
\nThe trees have cherished my words
\nAnd the flock my works.<\/p>\n
\nand who can recount the deeds of the LORD?
\nEverything has God seen,
\nEverything he has heard and has heeded.<\/p>\n
\nSamuel to make me great;
\nMy brothers went out to meet him,
\nhandsome of figure and appearance.<\/p>\n
\nand handsome by their hair,
\nThe LORD God chose
\nthem not.<\/p>\n
\nand anointed me with holy oil,
\nAnd he made me leader of his people
\nAnd ruler over the sons of his covenant.<\/p>\n
\n1Then I [saw] a Philistine
\nuttering defiances from the r[anks of the Philistines]
\n] I [<\/p>\n
\nnor a grave-worm recount Your lovingkindness.
\n2But the living can praise You,
\n(even) all those who stumble can laud You.
\n2\u20133In revealing Your kindness to them<\/p>\n
\n3\u20134For in Your hand is the soul of every living thing;
\nthe breath of all flesh You have given.
\n4\u20135Deal with us, O LORD, according to Your goodness,
\naccording to Your great mercy,
\nand according to Your many righteous deeds.
\n5\u20136The LORD has heeded the voice of those who love His name
\nand has not deprived them of His lovingkindness.
\n7\u20138Blessed be the LORD, who executes righteous deeds,
\ncrowning His saints with lovingkindness and mercy.
\n8\u20139My soul cries out to praise Your name,
\nto sing high praises for Your loving deeds,
\n9To proclaim Your faithfulness\u2014
\nof praise there is no end.
\n9\u201310Near death was I for my sins,
\nand my iniquities had sold me to the grave;
\n10\u201311But You saved me, O LORD,
\naccording to Your great mercy,
\nand according to Your many righteous deeds.
\n11\u201312Indeed have I loved Your name,
\nand in Your protection have I found refuge.
\n12\u201313When I remember Your might my heart is brave,
\nand upon Your mercies do I lean.
\n13\u201314Forgive my sin, O LORD,
\nand purify me from my iniquity.
\n14\u201315Grant me a spirit of faith and knowledge,
\nand let me not be dishonored in ruin.
\n15Let not Satan rule over me,
\nnor an unclean spirit;
\n15\u201316Neither let pain nor the evil inclination
\ntake possession of my bones.
\n16\u201317For You, O LORD, are my praise,
\nand in You do I hope all the day.
\n17Let my brothers rejoice with me
\nand the house of my father, who are astonished by Your gracious [\u2026]
\n18[\u2026]
\n[For e]ver I will rejoice in You.<\/p>\n
\nwith all my might have I loved you.
\nMay your memory be blessed forever!
\n2Great is your hope, O Zion:
\nthat peace and your longed-for salvation will come.
\n3Generation after generation will dwell in you
\nand generations of saints will be your splendour:
\n4Those who yearn for the day of your salvation
\nthat they may rejoice in the greatness of your glory.
\n5On the abundance of your glory they are nourished
\nand in your splendid squares will they toddle.
\n6The merits of your prophets you will remember,
\nand in the deeds of your pious ones you will glory.<\/p>\n
\nfalsehood and evil will be cut off from you.
\n8Your sons will rejoice in your midst
\nand your precious ones will be united with you.
\n9How they have hoped for your salvation,
\nYour pure ones have mourned for you.
\n10Hope in you does not perish, O Zion,
\nnor is hope in you forgotten.
\n11Who has ever perished (in) righteousness,
\nor who has ever survived in his iniquity?
\n12Man is tested according to his way;
\nevery man is requited according to his deed;
\n13All about are your enemies cut off, O Zion;
\nand all your foes have been scattered.<\/p>\n
\nascending through all the world.
\n15Many times do I remember you for blessing;
\nwith all my heart I bless you.
\n16May you attain unto everlasting righteousness,
\nand blessings of the honorable may you receive.
\n17Accept a vision bespoken of you,
\nand dreams of prophets sought for you.
\n18Be exalted and spread wide, O Zion;
\npraise the Most High, your savior;
\nlet my soul be glad in your glory.<\/p>\n
\nthe holiest unto every generation.
\n2Majesty precedes him,
\nand following him is the rush of many waters.
\n3Grace and truth surround his presence;
\ntruth and justice and righteousness are the foundation of his throne.
\n4Separating light from deep darkness,
\nby the knowledge of his mind he established the dawn.
\n5When all his angels had witnessed it they sang aloud,
\nfor he showed them what they had not known:
\n6Crowning the hills with fruit,
\ngood food for every living being.
\n7Blessed be he who makes the earth by his power,
\nestablishing the world in his wisdom.
\n8By his understanding he stretched out the heavens,
\nand brought forth [wind] from his st[orehouses].
\n9He made [lightning for the rai]n,
\nand caused mist[s] to rise[from] the end of [the earth].<\/p>\n
\nin the congregation of the many proclaim his majesty.
\n2In the multitude of the upright glorify his name
\nand with the faithful recount his greatness.<\/p>\n
\nand with the pure ones to glorify the Most High.
\n4Form an assembly to proclaim his salvation,
\nand be not lax in making known his might
\nand his majesty to all simple folk.<\/p>\n
\nis Wisdom given,
\n6And for recounting his many deeds
\nshe is revealed to man:
\n7To make known to simple folk his might,
\nand to explain to senseless folk his greatness,
\n8Those far from her gates,
\nthose who stray from her portals.<\/p>\n
\nand his majesty is over all his works.
\n10And a man who glorifies the Most High
\nhe accepts as one who brings a meal offering,
\n11as one who offers he-goats and bullocks
\nas one who fattens the altar with many burnt offerings
\nas a sweet-smelling fragrance from the hand of the righteous.<\/p>\n
\nand from the assembly of the pious her song.
\n13When they eat with satiety she is cited,
\nand when they drink in community together,
\n14Their meditation is on the Law of the Most High,
\ntheir words in making known his might.
\n15How far from the wicked is her word,
\nfrom all haughty men to know her.<\/p>\n
\nupon the good ones are compassionate,
\n17And upon those who glorify him he increases his mercy;
\nfrom an evil time will he deliver [their] soul.
\n18[Bless] the LORD
\nwho redeems the humble from the hand of [strangers]
\n[and deliv]ers [the pure from the hand of the wicked
\n19[Who raises the horn of Ja]cob
\nand judges [his people Israel].7
\n20[He will spread his tent in Zion
\nand abide forever in Jerusalem.]<\/p>\n
\ngive heed to me.
\n2I spread forth my palms
\ntoward your holy dwelling.
\n3Incline your ear
\nand grant me my plea,
\n4And my request
\nwithhold not from me.
\n5Edify my soul
\nand do not cast it down.
\n6And abandon (it) not
\nin the presence of the wicked.
\n7May the Judge of Truth
\nremove from me the rewards of evil.
\n\ud83d\ude2f LORD, judge me not according to my sins;
\nfor no one living is righteous before you.
\n9Grant me understanding, O LORD, in your Law,
\nand teach me your ordinances,
\n10That many may hear of your deeds
\nand peoples may honor your glory.
\n11Remember me and forget me not,
\nand lead me not into situations too hard for me.
\n12The sins of my youth cast far from me,
\nand may my transgressions not be remembered against me.
\n13Purify me, O LORD, from the evil scourge
\nand let it not turn again upon me.
\n14Dry up its roots from me
\nand let not its leaves flourish within me.
\n15You are (my) glory, O LORD.
\nTherefore is my request fulfilled before you.
\n16To whom may I cry and he would grant (it) me?
\nAnd people\u2014what more can [their] pow[er] do?
\n17My trust, O LORD, is before you.
\nI cried, \u2018O LORD\u2019, and he answered me,
\n[and he healed] my broken heart.
\n18I slumbered [and sl]ept,
\nI dreamt; indeed [I awoke].
\n19[You supported me, O LORD, when my heart was smitten]
\n[and I invoked] the LORD, [my deliverer].
\n20Now shall I behold their shame;
\nI have trusted in you and shall not be abashed.
\n21Deliver Israel, O LORD, your faithful ones,
\nand the house of Jacob, your chosen ones.<\/p>\n
\nThe two manuscripts are written in different hands; both can be dated on paleographic grounds to about 100\u201375 BCE. Determining when these psalms were composed is far more difficult, because the surviving fragments express none of the terminology and distinctive worldview of the sectarian scrolls from Qumran (e.g., 1QS, 1QM, 1QHa). The divine name, the Tetragrammaton, is used 11 times, both in biblical quotations and in nonbiblical composition; in works composed by the Qumran sectarian community, by contrast, the divine name is avoided. The presence of some linguistic features of Late Biblical Hebrew means that these psalms were probably not written before the Babylonian exile, but could have been composed at any time after the exile within \u201cmainstream\u201d Second Temple Judaism. We have no knowledge of how or when these psalms were used, whether for individual meditation or within a communal setting.<\/p>\n
\nThe language and content are very similar to the biblical psalms. There are petitions for deliverance from distress, affirmations of trust in divine deliverance, and the retelling of God\u2019s deeds in history (4Q381 frags. 77 and 69) and in creation (4Q381 frag. 1). Much of the language uses standard biblical vocabulary and images, but there are occasional distinctive phrases; for example, \u201cyou will bring me up from the tents of death\u201d (4Q381 31 2). Some psalms incorporate successive cola from a specific biblical psalm, sometimes with the wording only slightly reworked (see the commentary on the Prayer of Manasseh below and how it uses Ps. 18 || 2 Sam. 22), at other times in a more loosely allusive style.<\/p>\n
\n5He redeemed Judah from all distress, and from Ephraim [\u2026]
\n6generation. And his tested ones praise him and say, \u2018Rise up [my] G[od \u2026]
\n7Your name (is) my salvation. My rock, my fortress, and [my] deliverer [\u2026] On the day of [my]
\ndis[tress]
\n8I call to YHWH, and he answers me. My God, my help[\u2026]those who hate me. And he will say [\u2026]
\n9that [\u2026]. And I [\u2026 my cry be]fore him comes to his ears.
\n10And [my] voi[ce from his temple he will hear. And] the earth reeled [and rocked \u2026] for he was
\nangry. There went up
\n11in [his] nostrils [smoke \u2026] he taught, and instruction
\n12[\u2026]<\/p>\n
\n9I wait for your saving presence and I cringe before you because of my s[in]s. For [you] magnified [your mercy] but I multiplied guilt. And so I [will be cut off]
\n10from eternal joy, and my soul will not see what is good. For [ ] they went into exile and [. H]e exalted me on high, over a nation [ ]
\n11But I did not remember you [in your] ho[ly pla]ce, [I] did not serve [you \u2026]<\/p>\n
\n9. truth in it and his lovingkindness [\u2026]<\/p>\n
\nIt turns out to be extremely difficult, however, to separate the Jewish source from the Christian redaction. That is so for two reasons. First, sometimes topics that were the Christian compiler\u2019s favorites coincided with what he may have found in the Jewish source (e.g., the great value of the Sabbath and learning Torah). Second, even where the text does not show traces of the compiler\u2019s typical vocabulary, it may have been part of a Christian prayer text that contained no specifically Christian motifs and was not modified by the compiler. Third, we do not know the exact wording (only the main motifs) of the original Jewish prayers.
\nThe main criteria used here to distinguish between the Jewish and Christian layers of the texts are the following: If there are verbal agreements between the earliest forms of the Hebrew counterparts, such passages are taken to derive from the Jewish source. If the contents of a clause or a sentence are characteristically Jewish and do not betray the vocabulary of the Christian compiler, they are taken to be Jewish. If parts of the text are distinctively Christian, they are regarded as coming from the compiler\u2019s pen (or from his Christian source, that is, the prayers in a christianized form before they arrived at the compiler\u2019s desk). Everything else is in the gray area in between, namely those large parts of the text that do not enable us, with the criteria mentioned here, to distinguish between Jewish and Christian material.
\nIt is on the basis of the above criteria that I have not included here ten other prayers from Constitutions that are taken by some scholars to be christianized versions of Jewish prayers. Even though these prayers may contain elements that point to a Jewish background, the correspondences between them and prayers that are certainly Jewish are too few and too general to justify their inclusion in this volume. These are just Christian texts containing occasional motifs from the Jewish Bible.
\nThe text of Constitutions has been preserved in 23 manuscripts (varying from the 8th to the 18th century), only 9 (varying from the 10th to the 16th century) of which contain the prayers. There are only a few serious text-critical problems (where relevant, these will be discussed in the comments).<\/p>\n
\nFurthermore, these texts testify to the existence of a Greek-speaking Diaspora Judaism that was both loyal to their ancestral traditions (including liturgical ones) and at the same time deeply influenced by Greek philosophical notions. In that respect the Jewish-Greek redactors of these prayers were veritable heirs to Philo of Alexandria. Finally, these prayers are important in that they provide us with a window on an influential strand of judaizing Christians in Syria, of which we know otherwise only from inimical Christian sources (especially the anti-judaizing sermons by church father John Chrysostom, delivered by him in Antioch in 386\/387 CE). The compiler of our Antiochene church order, following the motto \u201cif you can\u2019t beat them, join them,\u201d decided to offer his parishioners as far as possible what they were looking for during their weekly visits to the local synagogues: Jewish prayers and practices, but now in a christianized form.<\/p>\n
\nDarnell, D. R. \u201cHellenistic Synagogal Prayers.\u201d In Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. J. H. Charlesworth, 2.671\u201397. Garden City: Doubleday, 1985.
\nFiensy, D. A. Prayers Alleged to Be Jewish: An Examination of the Constitutiones Apostolorum. Brown Judaic Studies 65. Chico: Scholars Press, 1985.
\nGoodenough, E. R. By Light, Light. The Mystic Gospel of Hellenistic Judaism, 306\u201336. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1935.
\nKohler, K. \u201cThe Origin and Composition of the Eighteen Benedictions with a Translation of the Corresponding Essene Prayers in the Apostolic Constitutions.\u201d Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924): 387\u2013425.
\nMetzger, M. Les Constitutions Apostoliques, vol. 3. Sources chr\u00e9tiennes 336. Paris: Cerf, 1987. (This is the best edition of the Greek text.)
\nvan der Horst, P. W., and J. H. Newman. Early Jewish Prayers in Greek: A Commentary. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2008. (This is the fullest commentary on the Greek text.)<\/p>\n
\n3You have established the present world as a place where men should run the race of righteousness, you have opened to all a gate of mercy, you have showed to everyone by implanted knowledge and natural judgment as well as through the exhortation of the Law, that the possession of wealth is not eternal, that outer beauty is not everlasting, that physical power is easily dissolved, and that all these things are nothing but vapor and vanity. Only a sincere conscience of faith, that truly ascends and traverses the midst of the heavens, receives the assurance of future bliss, and at the same time, even before the promised rebirth is realized, that soul rejoices as it is exulting in hope.
\n4For from the beginning, when our forefather Abraham strove for the way of truth, you have guided him by means of a vision and taught him thus what this world [or: life] really is. From that knowledge resulted his faith, and the covenant was the consequence of his faith [or: Faith preceded his knowledge and the covenant was the consequence of his faith]. For you had said: \u201cI will make your seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand along the shore of the sea\u201d (Gen. 22:17).
\n5Moreover, when you had given him Isaac and knew that he was going to be like him (his father) in his way of life, you called yourself also his God when you said: \u201cI will be your God and that of your seed after you\u201d (Gen. 17:7). And when our father Jacob set out for Mesopotamia, you showed (him) Christ, and you spoke through him saying: \u201cLook, I am with you and I will increase you and multiply you exceedingly\u201d (Gen. 28:15; 48:4).
\n6And to Moses, your faithful and holy servant, you said in the vision at the bush: \u201cI am the one who is. That is my eternal name and a memorial to generations after generations\u201d (Exod. 3:14\u201315).
\n7Defender of the offspring of Abraham, blessed are you forever!<\/p>\n
\n2For it is thanks to your decision, O Master, that the universe is bright, and that heaven, fixed like a vault, is adorned with stars in order to comfort (us in) the darkness; that the light and the sun have been created for the day and the growth of fruits, and the moon that increases and decreases for the change of seasons; that the one was called night and the other named day; that a firmament appeared from the midst of the abysses when you said that the waters should be collected and the dry land become visible.
\n3As to the sea itself, how could anyone describe it? It comes raging from the ocean, but runs back again from the sand because it is stopped there by your command, for you said that its waves shall be broken by it. And you have made it passable for small and large animals and for ships.
\n4Then the earth became green, painted with all sorts of flowers and a wide variety of different trees. The brightly shining luminaries are their nourishers, who unwaveringly keep their course without deviating from your command in any respect. Wherever you order them, there do they rise and set to signal seasons and years, thus alternating for the service of humankind.
\n5Thereafter the various kinds of animals were formed, those on dry land, those living in water, those traversing the air, and the amphibians; and the skillful Wisdom of your providence imparts to each of them the corresponding provisions. For just as she was strong enough to produce different kinds (of animals), so too she did not neglect to make different provisions for each.
\n6As the goal of your creation you formed the rational living being, the world citizen, having given an order to your Wisdom by saying, \u201cLet us make man according to our image and likeness\u201d (Gen. 1:26). You presented him as an ornament of the world, you shaped a body for him from the four bodies, you created for him a soul out of nothing, you bestowed upon him fivefold sense perception, but over the senses you placed the charioteer of the soul, the spirit.
\n7And besides all that, O Master (and) LORD, who can adequately describe the movement of the rain-producing clouds, the flash of lightning, the clap of thunder, (all of them) for the production of appropriate food and a harmonious blending of the air.
\n8But when man disobeyed you, you deprived him of the life you promised him as a reward, not by destroying him completely [or: forever], but after having put him to sleep for a little while you called him to a new birth by an oath and you loosened the bond of death, you reviver of the dead through Jesus Christ, our hope.<\/p>\n
\n2Your power is proclaimed by the heavens and your steadfastness by the earth, even though it is shaken because it is hanging upon nothing. The sea, that in its raging waves shepherds an innumerable company of living beings, is bound by the sandy beach and trembles before your will, and therefore it compels all to cry out: \u201cHow great are your works, O LORD! You have made all things in Wisdom. The earth is full of your creation\u201d (Ps. 104:24).
\n3A fiery army of angels and intellectual spirits say: \u201cOnly one is holy to Phelmouni\u201d [or: \u201csay to Phelmouni: Only one is holy\u201d] (Dan. 8:13), and the holy seraphim, who together with the six-winged cherubim sing for you the song of victory, cry out with never-silent voices: \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the LORD Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of your glory!\u201d (Isa. 6:3). And the multitudes of the other orders\u2014angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, and powers\u2014say with a loud voice: \u201cBlessed be the glory of the LORD from his place\u201d (Ezek. 3:12).
\n4Israel, your earthly assembly (that was taken) out of the Gentiles, emulates the powers in heaven day and night when it sings with an overflowing heart and a willing soul: \u201cThe chariot of the LORD is ten-thousandfold thousands of thriving ones; the LORD is among them at Sinai, at the holy place\u201d (Ps. 68:18).
\n5Heaven knows the one who fixed it upon nothing, in the form of a vault, like a cube of stone, the one who united earth and water with one another, the one who poured out the air that nourishes living beings, and conjoined fire with it for warmth and comfort in darkness. We are struck by the choir of stars that points to the one who counted them and shows the one who named them, as do the living beings to the one who gave them life and trees to the one who makes them grow. All these things that have been made by your word manifest the strength of your power.
\n6For that reason every human being should send up from the bottom of his heart a hymn (of thanks) for all that to you through Christ, since it is thanks to you that he has power over all things.
\n7For you demonstrate your goodness by your benefactions, and your generosity by your deeds of compassion, you the only almighty one. For when you want to do something, the ability to do it is yours. For your eternal might cools flames, muzzles lions, tames sea monsters, raises up those who are sick, overturns powers, and overthrows an army of enemies and a people that is counted among the arrogant.
\n8You are the one who is in heaven, the one who is on the earth, the one who is in the sea, the one who, though being in finite areas, is himself infinite. \u201cFor there is no limit to your greatness\u201d (Ps. 145:3). For this oracle is not ours, Master, but your servant\u2019s, who says: \u201cAnd you will know in your heart that the LORD your God is a God in heaven above and upon earth below, and there is no other beside him\u201d (Deut. 4:39).
\n9For there is no God except you alone, no holy one except you, LORD, the God of knowledge, the God of the holy ones, the Holy One above all holy ones. \u201cFor the holy ones are under your hands\u201d (Deut. 33:3). (You are) glorious and highly exalted, invisible by nature, and inscrutable in judgments. Your life is in want of nothing, your continuity is unchangeable and unfailing, your activity is untiring, your greatness is unlimited, your beauty is everlasting, your habitation is inaccessible, your dwelling place is immovable, your knowledge is without beginning, your truth is unchangeable, your work is unmediated, your power is unassailable, your monarchy is not in need of a successor, your kingdom is without end, your strength is irresistible, your army is great in numbers.
\n10For you are the Father of Wisdom, the one who as a cause founded the creation through a mediator, the supplier of providence, the giver of laws, the fulfiller of needs, the avenger of the ungodly and the rewarder of the righteous, the God and Father of Christ and the LORD of those who are pious toward him, whose promise is reliable, who is incorruptible in his judgment, whose opinion is immutable, whose loyalty is unceasing, whose gratitude is eternal, through whom every rational and holy creature owes you worship worthy of you.<\/p>\n
\n2How for us he submitted to birth through a woman, how he appeared in (this) life manifesting himself in his baptism, how he who appeared is God and man, how he suffered for us by your consent, and died, and arose by your power. Therefore, when we celebrate the feast of the resurrection, we rejoice on that Sunday over the one who conquered death and brought to light life and immortality. For through him you have brought the Gentiles to yourself in order to make them a special people, the true Israel, loved by God (and) seeing God.
\n3For you, O LORD, you also led our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and you saved them from an iron furnace and from clay and the making of bricks, you redeemed them from the hand of Pharaoh and his underlings, and you led them through the sea as through dry land, and in the desert you sustained them with all sorts of good things.
\n4You gave them the Law of the ten words spoken by your voice and written by your hand. You commanded them to keep the Sabbath, not in order to give them a pretext for laziness but an opportunity for piety, for the knowledge of your power, for the prevention of evil, by confining them as it were within a sacred precinct for the sake of instruction, and for rejoicing in the number seven. For this reason there are one seven (week), seven sevens (weeks), the seventh month, the seventh year, and according to its cycle the fiftieth year for remission. 5(This is) so as to prevent humankind from having any excuse to pretend ignorance. For that reason you commanded them not to work on any Sabbath, so that no one would even be willing to speak a word in anger on the day of the Sabbath. For Sabbath means resting from creation, the completion of the world, searching of the laws, (and) thankful praise to God for the gifts he gave to humankind.
\n6(But) the LORD\u2019s day surpasses all this! It shows the Mediator himself, the one who exercises providence, the Lawgiver, the cause of the resurrection, the firstborn of all creation, God the Word and a man born of Mary, the only one begotten without a man, who lived a holy life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, and arose from the dead. So the LORD\u2019s day commands us, O Master, to offer you thanks for all these things. 7For this is the grace offered by you that on account of its greatness has obscured every other good deed.<\/p>\n
\n2First you beheld the sacrifice of Abel and accepted it (Gen. 4:4), then that of Noah when he had come out of the ark (Gen. 8:20\u201321), that of Abraham after he left the land of the Chaldeans (Gen. 12:7), of Isaac at the well of the oath (i.e., Beer-sheba; Gen. 26:23\u201325), of Jacob in Bethel (i.e., Bethlehem; Gen. 35:1, 14\u201315), of Moses in the wilderness (Exod. 12:43\u201351), of Aaron in the midst of the living and the dead (Num. 17:11\u201313), of Joshua son of Nave at Gilgal (Josh. 5:10), of Gideon at the rock and the fleeces before his sin (Judg. 6:19, 39), of Manoah and his wife in the plain (Judg. 13:15\u201320), of Samson when he was thirsty before his transgression (Judg. 15:18\u201319), of Jephthah in the war before his rash promise (Judg. 11:29\u201333), of Barak and Deborah in the time of Sisera (Judg. 4), of Samuel at Mizpah (1 Sam. 7:5\u201311), 3of David on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:10\u201317; 1 Chron. 21:7\u201317), of Solomon in Gibeon and Jerusalem (1 Kings 3:5\u201314; 8:22\u201364), of Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20\u201340), of Elisha at the barren fountain (2 Kings 2:19\u201322), of Jehoshaphat in war (2 Chron. 18), of Hezekiah in his sickness and at the time of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19\u201320), of Manasseh in the land of the Chaldeans after his transgression (2 Chron. 33:10\u201313), of Josiah at Pesach (i.e., Phassa; 2 Chron. 35), of Ezra at the return (Ezra 8), 4of Daniel in the den of the lions (Dan. 6:10\u201324), of Jonah in the belly of the whale (Jon. 2), of the three boys in the furnace of fire (Dan. 3), of Hannah in the tabernacle before the ark (1 Sam. 1:9\u201320), of Nehemiah in the time of the rebuilding of the walls and of Zerubbabel (Neh. 2\u20137), of Mattathias and his sons in their zeal for you (1 Macc. 2\u20134), of Jael in her praises (Judg. 4:17\u201323). 5Accept therefore also now the prayers of your people, which are offered to you in acknowledgement through Christ in the Spirit.<\/p>\n
\n2For you helped (us) in the days of Enos and Enoch, in the days of Moses and Joshua, in the days of the Judges, in the days of Samuel and Elijah and the other prophets, in the days of David and the other kings, in the days of Esther and Mordechai, in the days of Judith, in the days of Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers.
\n3Also in our own days you helped us through your great High Priest Jesus Christ, your Son. For he delivered us from the sword and saved us from hunger by nourishing us, he healed (us) from disease and protected (us) from an evil tongue.
\n4For all these things, through Jesus Christ, we give thanks to you, who have given us an articulate voice to give thanks to you and have endowed us with a harmonious tongue as an instrument, in the manner of a plectrum, and a useful (sense of) taste, an appropriate touch, vision for seeing, hearing for sounds, smelling for vapors, hands for working, and feet for traveling.
\n5And you form all that from a little drop in the womb, and bestow upon it after its formation an immortal soul and bring forward into the light this rational human being. You have educated him with laws and enlightened him with statutes. You bring on dissolution for a while, but you promised the resurrection.
\n6Therefore, what lifetime is sufficient and what length of ages will be enough for humans to give thanks? To do so adequately is really impossible, yet to do so as well as one can is a holy duty.
\n7For you saved us from the ungodliness of the polytheists, you rescued us from the heresy of the Christ-killers, and you have freed us from the ignorance of those gone astray. You sent Christ to humankind as a human, although he is the only begotten God, you made the Paraclete dwell in us, you set angels over us, you put the devil to shame. You made those who did not exist, you watch over those who have come into being, you measure out life, you provide nourishment, and you promised repentance.
\n8For all these things be glory and worship to you, through Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.<\/p>\n
\nKugel, J. \u201c4Q369 \u2018Prayer of Enosh\u2019 and Ancient Biblical Interpretation.\u201d DSD 5 (1998): 119\u201348.<\/p>\n
\n2 \u2026]to the mysteries [\u2026] Your [angel of?] peace
\n3 \u2026 they] will understand[\u2026]that they will incur guilt
\n4 \u2026]all their fe[stivals] in their time periods
\n5 \u2026 perio]d of Your miracles. For of old You decreed for them
\n6 \u2026]his punishment until the period of judgment. There was determined
\n7 \u2026]in all appointed times until
\n8 \u2026] [blank]
\n9 \u2026]and his [son] Mahalalel, a fifth generation
\n10. ]his son Enoch, a seventh generation<\/p>\n
\n2. It is the splendor of Your earthly habitation, and upon it You have del[ighted?\u2026]
\n3. Your eye upon it and Your glory is seen there [forever \u2026|?]
\n4. to his seed for generations as an eternal possession. And al[l
\n5. and Your goodly statutes You have made clear to him t[o walk about?]
\n6. in an eternal light, and You have made him a firstborn son for Yourself
\n7. like him as a prince and ruler over all Your earthly habitation[
\n8.\u2026] heaven and with the glory of the skies You have sustained [him
\n9.\u2026] and Your angel of peace in his assembly, and[
\n10.\u2026] to him righteous laws, as a father to a so[n
\n11. \u201c\u2026] My love. May Your soul cleave to[
\n12 \u2026] for in them [\u2026] your glory [\u2026]<\/p>\n
\nThe oldest copies of the Greek Prayer of Manasseh are found in 3rd- and 4th-century compositions of church teachings (the Didascalia and Apostolic Constitutions) and in the Odes appended to the Psalms in 5th- and 7th-century Greek Bible manuscripts (Codices Alexandrinus and Turicensis). A Hebrew version, evidently based on a Syriac translation of the Greek, appears in a small collection of prayers attributed to biblical heroes in a 10th-century manuscript from the Cairo Genizah. The Hebrew Prayer of Manasseh found in the Dead Sea Scrolls is a completely different composition; it attests an ancient tradition for Manasseh\u2019s prayer in a collection of noncanonical psalms (4th\u20133rd century BCE). Rabbinic midrash has yet another tradition of Manasseh\u2019s prayer (Y. San. 10:2, 28c; B. San. 102b\u20133a; Deut. Rab. 2:20).<\/p>\n
\nDavila, James, R. \u201cIs the Prayer of Manasseh a Jewish Work?\u201d In Heavenly Tablets: Interpretation, Identity and Tradition in Ancient Judaism, edited by L. LiDonnoci and A. Lieber, 75\u201385. Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplements 119. Leiden: Brill, 2007.
\nLeicht, Reimund. \u201cA Newly Discovered Hebrew Version of the Apocryphal \u2018Prayer of Manasseh.\u2019 \u201d Jewish Studies Quarterly 3 (1996): 359\u201373.
\nNewman, Judith H. \u201cThe Form and Settings of the Prayer of Manasseh.\u201d In Seeking the Favor of God Vol. 2, The Development of Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism, edited by M. J. Boda, D. K. Falk, and R. A. Werline, 105\u201325. EBL 22. Atlanta: SBL, 2007.
\nRyle, H. E. \u201cPrayer of Manasseh.\u201d In The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, edited by R. H. Charles, 1.612\u201324. Oxford: Clarendon, 1913.
\nSchniedewind, William M. \u201cA Qumran Fragment of the Ancient \u2018Prayer of Manasseh\u2019?\u201d Zeitschrift f\u00fcr die al-testamentliche Wissenschaft 108 (1996): 105\u20137.
\nSchuller, Eileen M. Non-Canonical Psalms from Qumran: A Pseudepigraphic Collection. Harvard Semitic Studies 28. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014. \u201cNon-Canonical Psalms.\u201d In Qumran Cave 4 VI: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 1. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 11, edited by E. Eshel, et al., 122\u201334. Oxford: Clarendon, 1998,
\nStone, Michael E. \u201cApocryphal Notes and Readings.\u201d Israel Oriental Society 1 (1971): 123\u201331.
\nvan der Horst, Pieter W., and Judith H. Newman. Early Jewish Prayers in Greek, 145\u201380. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008.<\/p>\n
\nGod of our ancestors,
\nof Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
\nand of their righteous offspring;
\n2you who made heaven and earth with all their order,
\n3who shackled the sea by your word of command,
\nwho closed the abyss and sealed it
\nwith your terrifying and glorious name;
\n4at whom all shudder, and tremble before your power,
\n5for the magnificence of your glory cannot be endured,
\nand the wrath of your threat to sinners is intolerable;
\n6yet immeasurable and unfathomable is your promised mercy.
\n7For you are the LORD Most High,
\nof great compassion, patient, and very merciful,
\nand relenting at human evil.
\nO LORD, according to your great kindness,
\nyou have promised repentance and forgiveness
\nto those who have sinned against you,
\nand in the multitude of your mercies,
\nyou have constituted repentance for sinners, for salvation.
\n8Therefore you, O LORD, God of the righteous,
\nhave not constituted repentance for the righteous,
\nfor Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you,
\nbut you have constituted repentance for me, who am a sinner.
\n9For the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea;
\nmy transgressions are multiplied,
\nO LORD, they are multiplied,
\nand I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven
\nbecause of the multitude of my iniquities.
\n10I am weighted down with many an iron shackle,
\nso that I cannot lift up my head,
\nand I have no relief;
\nfor I have provoked your wrath
\nand have done what is evil in your sight,
\nsetting up desecrations and multiplying abominations.
\n11And now I bend the knee of my heart, begging you for your kindness.
\n12I have sinned, O LORD, I have sinned,
\nand I acknowledge my transgressions.
\n13I beg, beseeching you: forgive me!
\nDo not destroy me with my lawless deeds;
\nDo not remember my wicked actions forever in your anger;
\nDo not condemn me to the depths of the earth!
\nFor you, O LORD, are the God of those who repent,
\n14and in me you will manifest your goodness;
\nfor, unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy,
\n15and I will praise you continually all the days of my life.
\nFor all the host of heaven sings your praise
\nand yours is the glory forever. Amen.<\/p>\n
\nPrayer joins two separate prayer compositions. Column 1 is a hymn in praise of God, while columns 2\u20133 are a prayer for the welfare of King Jonathan. Lines 5\u201310 of col. 1 preserve fragments of verses from Ps. 154, a psalm that was previously known from a collection of five apocryphal psalms preserved in Syriac. In 1956 the Psalms Scroll of cave 11 (11QPsa) was discovered; it contained three of the five apocryphal psalms (151, 154, and 155). The text of Prayer column 1 appears to be an earlier version of the text of Ps. 154.
\nThese are the verses of Ps. 154 that are found in the Prayer for King Jonathan:<\/p>\n
\n3. [Bind your souls to the good ones,] and to the pure ones [to glorify the Most High].
\n16. [Behold the eyes of the LORD are compassionate over the good ones,]
\n17. And upon those who glorify Him He [increases His mercy. From an evil time He will deliver their soul,]
\n18. [(He) who redeems] the humble from the hand of adversaries. [And He delivers the perfect from the power of the wicked.]
\n20. [He who desires] His habitation in Zion, ch[ooses Jerusalem forever.]<\/p>\n