The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (41 page)

Hymn 8
(formerly
3
)

I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast [fastened] Thine eye upon me.
Thou hast saved me from the zeal
of lying interpreters,
and from the congregation of those
who seek smooth things.
Thou hast redeemed the soul of the poor one
whom they planned to destroy
by spilling his blood because he served Thee.

 

Because [they knew not]
that my steps were directed by Thee,
they made me an object of shame and derision
in the mouth of all the seekers of falsehood.
But Thou, O my God, hast succoured
the soul of the poor and the needy
against one stronger than he;
Thou hast redeemed my soul
from the hand of the mighty.
Thou hast not permitted their insults to dismay me
so that I forsook Thy service
for fear of the wickedness of the [ungodly],
or bartered my steadfast heart for folly

Hymn 9
(formerly
4
)

XI
(formerly
III
)
They caused [me] to be
like a ship on the deeps of the [sea],
and like a fortified city
before [the aggressor],
[and] like a woman in travail
with her first-born child,
upon whose belly pangs have come
and grievous pains,
filling with anguish her child-bearing crucible.

 

For the children have come to the throes of Death,
and she labours in her pains who bears a man.
For amid the throes of Death
she shall bring forth a man-child,
and amid the pains of Hell
there shall spring from her child-bearing crucible
a Marvellous Mighty Counsellor;
and a man shall be delivered from out of the throes.

 

When he is conceived
all wombs shall quicken,
and the time of their delivery
shall be in grievous pains;
they shall be appalled
who are with child.
And when he is brought forth
every pang shall come upon the child-bearing crucible.

 

And they, the conceivers of Vanity,
shall be prey to terrible anguish;
the wombs of the Pit
shall be prey to all the works of horror.

 

The foundations of the wall shall rock
like a ship upon the face of the waters;
the heavens shall roar
with a noise of roaring,
and those who dwell in the dust,
as well as those who sail the seas,
shall be appalled by the roaring of the waters.

 

All their wise men
shall be like sailors on the deeps,
for all their wisdom shall be swallowed up
in the midst of the howling seas.
As the Abysses boil
above the fountains of the waters,
the towering waves and billows shall rage
with the voice of their roaring;
and as they rage,
[Hell and Abaddon] shall open
[and all] the flying arrows of the Pit
shall send out their voice to the Abyss.

 

And the gates [of Hell] shall open
[on all] the works of Vanity;
and the doors of the Pit shall close
on the conceivers of wickedness;
and the everlasting bars shall be bolted
on all the spirits of Naught.

Hymn 10
(formerly
5
)

I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast redeemed my soul from the Pit,
and from the hell of Abaddon
Thou hast raised me up to everlasting height.

 

I walk on limitless level ground,
and I know there is hope for him
whom Thou hast shaped from dust
for the everlasting Council.
Thou hast cleansed a perverse spirit of great sin
that it may stand with the host of the Holy Ones,
and that it may enter into community
with the congregation of the Sons of Heaven.
Thou hast allotted to man an everlasting destiny
amidst the spirits of knowledge,
that he may praise Thy Name in a common rejoicing
and recount Thy marvels before all Thy works.

 

And yet I, a creature of clay,
what am I?
Kneaded with water,
what is my worth and my might?
For I have stood in the realm of wickedness
and my lot was with the damned;
the soul of the poor one was carried away
in the midst of great tribulation.
Miseries of torment dogged my steps
while all the snares of the Pit were opened
and the lures of wickedness were set up
and the nets of the damned (were spread) on the waters;
while all the arrows of the Pit
flew out without cease,
and, striking, left no hope;
while the rope beat down in judgement
and a destiny of wrath (fell) upon the abandoned
and a venting of fury upon the cunning.
It was a time of the wrath of all Belial
and the bonds of death tightened without any escape.

 

The torrents of Belial shall reach
to all sides of the world.
In all their channels
a consuming fire shall destroy
every tree, green and barren, on their banks;
unto the end of their courses
it shall scourge with flames of fire,
and shall consume the foundations of the earth
and the expanse of dry land.
The bases of the mountains shall blaze
and the roots of the rocks shall turn
to torrents of pitch;
it shall devour as far as the great Abyss.

 

The torrents of Belial shall break into Abaddon,
and the deeps of the Abyss shall groan
amid the roar of heaving mud.
The land shall cry out because of the calamity
fallen upon the world,
and all its deeps shall howl.
And all those upon it shall rave
and shall perish amid the great misfortune.
For God shall sound His mighty voice,
and His holy abode shall thunder
with the truth of His glory.
The heavenly hosts shall cry out
and the world's foundations
shall stagger and sway.
The war of the heavenly warriors shall scourge the earth;
and it shall not end before the appointed destruction
which shall be for ever and without compare.

Hymn 11
(formerly
6
)

I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou art as a fortified wall to me,
and as an iron bar against all destroyers
Thou hast set my feet upon rock...
that I may walk in the way of eternity
and in the paths which Thou hast chosen
XII
(formerly
IV
)

Hymn 12
(formerly 7)

I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast illumined my face by Thy Covenant,
I seek Thee,
and sure as the dawn
Thou appearest as [perfect Light] to me.
Teachers of lies [have smoothed] Thy people [with words],
and [false prophets] have led them astray;
they perish without understanding
for their works are in folly.
For I am despised by them
and they have no esteem for me
that Thou mayest manifest Thy might through me.
They have banished me from my land like a bird from its nest;
all my friends and brethren are driven far from me
and hold me for a broken vessel.

 

And they, teachers of lies and seers of falsehood,
have schemed against me a devilish scheme,
to exchange the Law engraved on my heart by Thee
for the smooth things (which they speak) to Thy people.
And they withhold from the thirsty the drink of Knowledge,
and assuage their thirst with vinegar,
that they may gaze on their straying,
on their folly concerning their feast-days,
on their fall into their snares.

 

But Thou, O God,
dost despise all Belial's designs;
it is Thy purpose that shall be done
and the design of Thy heart
that shall be established for ever.

 

As for them, they dissemble,
they plan devilish schemes.
They seek Thee with a double heart
and are not confirmed in Thy truth
A root bearing poisoned and bitter fruit
is in their designs;
they walk in stubbornness of heart
and seek Thee among idols,
and they set before themselves
the stumbling-block of their sin.

 

They come to inquire of Thee
from the mouth of lying prophets deceived by error
who speak [with strange] lips to Thy people,
and an alien tongue,
that they may cunningly turn
all their works to folly.

 

For [they hearken] not [to] Thy [voice],
nor do they give ear to Thy word;
of the vision of knowledge they say, ‘It is unsure',
and of the way of Thy heart, ‘It is not (the way)'.
But Thou, O God, wilt reply to them,
chastising them in Thy might
because of their idols
and because of the multitude of their sins,
that they who have turned aside from Thy Covenant
may be caught in their own designs.
Thou wilt destroy in Judgement
all men of lies,
and there shall be no more seers of error;
for in Thy works is no folly,
no guile in the design of Thy heart.
But those who please Thee
shall stand before Thee for ever;
those who walk in the way of Thy heart
shall be established for evermore.

 

Clinging to Thee, I will stand.
I will rise against those who despise me
and my hand shall be turned
against those who deride me;
for they have no esteem for me
[that Thou mayest] manifest Thy might through me.
Thou hast revealed Thyself to me in Thy power
as perfect Light,
and Thou hast not covered my face with shame.
All those who are gathered in Thy Covenant
inquire of me,
and they hearken to me who walk in the way of Thy heart,
who array themselves for Thee
in the Council of the holy.

 

Thou wilt cause their law to endure for ever
and truth to go forward unhindered,
and Thou wilt not allow them to be led astray
by the hand of the damned
when they plot against them.
Thou wilt put the fear of them into Thy people
and (wilt make of them) a hammer
to all the peoples of the lands,
that at the Judgement they may cut off
all those who transgress Thy word.

 

Through me Thou hast illumined
the face of the Congregation
and hast shown Thine infinite power.
For Thou hast given me knowledge
through Thy marvellous mysteries,
and hast shown Thyself mighty within me
in the midst of Thy marvellous Council.
Thou hast done wonders before the Congregation
for the sake of Thy glory,
that they may make known Thy mighty deeds to all the living.

 

But what is flesh (to be worthy) of this?
What is a creature of clay
for such great marvels to be done,
whereas he is in iniquity from the womb
and in guilty unfaithfulness until his old age?
Righteousness, I know, is not of man,
nor is perfection of way of the son of man:
to the Most High God belong all righteous deeds.
The way of man is not established
except by the spirit which God created for him
to make perfect a way for the children of men,
that all His creatures may know
the might of His power,
and the abundance of His mercies
towards all the sons of His grace.

 

As for me, shaking and trembling seize me
and all my bones are broken;
my heart dissolves like wax before fire
and my knees are like water
pouring down a steep place.
For I remember my sins
and the unfaithfulness of my fathers.
When the wicked rose against Thy Covenant
and the damned against Thy word,
I said in my sinfulness,
‘I am forsaken by Thy Covenant.'
But calling to mind the might of Thy hand
and the greatness of Thy compassion,
I rose and stood,
and my spirit was established
in face of the scourge.

 

I lean on Thy grace
and on the multitude of Thy mercies,
for Thou wilt pardon iniquity,
and through Thy righteousness
[Thou wilt purify man] of his sin.
Not for his sake wilt Thou do it,
[but for the sake of Thy glory].
For Thou hast created the just and the wicked
XIII
(formerly
V
)

Hymn 13
(formerly
8
)

I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast not abandoned me
whilst I sojourned among a people [burdened with sin].

 

[Thou hast not] judged me
according to my guilt,
nor hast Thou abandoned me
because of the designs of my inclination;
but Thou hast saved my life from the Pit.
Thou hast brought [Thy servant deliverance]
in the midst of lions destined for the guilty,
and of lionesses which crush the bones of the mighty
and drink the blood of the brave.

 

Thou hast caused me to dwell with the many fishers
who spread a net upon the face of the waters,
and with the hunters of the children of iniquity;
Thou hast established me there for justice.
Thou hast confirmed the counsel of truth in my heart
and the waters of the Covenant for those who seek it.
Thou hast closed up the mouth of the young lions
whose teeth are like a sword,
and whose great teeth are like a pointed spear,
like the venom of dragons.
All their design is for robbery
and they have lain in wait;
but they have not opened their mouth against me.

 

For Thou, O God, hast sheltered me
from the children of men,
and hast hidden Thy Law [within me]
against the time when Thou shouldst reveal
Thy salvation to me.
For Thou hast not forsaken me
in my soul's distress,
and Thou hast heard my cry
in the bitterness of my soul;
and when I groaned,
Thou didst consider my sorrowful complaint.
Thou hast preserved the soul of the poor one
in the den of lions
which sharpened their tongue like a sword.
Thou hast closed up their teeth, O God,
lest they rend the soul of the poor and needy.
Thou hast made their tongue go back
like a sword to its scabbard
[lest] the soul of Thy servant [be blotted out].

 

Thou hast dealt wondrously with the poor one
to manifest Thy might within me
in the presence of the sons of men.

 

Thou hast placed him in the melting-pot,
[like gold] in the fire,
and like silver refined
in the melting-pot of the smelters,
to be purified seven times.
The wicked and fierce have stormed against me
with their afflictions;
they have pounded my soul all day.
But Thou, O my God,
hast changed the tempest to a breeze;
Thou hast delivered the soul of the poor one
like [a bird from the net
and like] prey from the mouth of lions.