1 A great occupation was created for all men, and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their departure from their mother’s womb, even until the day of their burial into the mother of all:
2 their thoughts, and the fears of their heart, their imagined expectations, and the day of their end,
3 from him who sits upon a glorious throne, even to him who is humbled in earth and ashes,
4 from him who wears hyacinth and bears a crown, even to him who is covered with rough linen: wrath, envy, tumult, restlessness, and the fear of death, continual anger and contention.
5 And in the time of rest upon his bed, the sleep of the night changes his knowledge.
6 There is little or no rest, and sleep is taken from him, as if on a day of keeping watch.
7 He is disturbed by a vision of his heart, as if he had escaped in a day of warfare. In the time of his salvation, he rose up and wondered that there was no fear.
8 This is so with all flesh, from man even to cattle, but upon sinners it is seven times as great.
9 Add to this: death, bloodshed, contention, and the spear, oppression, famine, and affliction, and scourges.
10 All these things have been created because of iniquity, and it is due to iniquity that the great flood was made.
11 All things that are of the earth shall return to the earth, and all waters shall return to the sea.
12 All bribery and iniquity will be wiped away, but faith shall stand forever.
13 The substance of the unjust will dry up like a river, and will pass away with a noise like loud thunder in a rainstorm.
14 When he opens his hands, he will rejoice. So will transgressors pass away at the consummation.
15 The descendents of the impious will not produce many branches, for they may be compared to dirty roots at the edge of a rock.
16 The weeds, which grow above every water and beside the banks of the river, will be uprooted before all the grass.
17 Grace is like a paradise of blessings, and mercy continues for eternity.
18 The life of a worker, when content with what is sufficient, will become sweet, and in it you will find a treasure.
19 Sons, and the building of a city, will establish a name, but an immaculate wife will be ranked above these things.
20 Wine and music rejoice the heart, but the love of wisdom is above them both.
21 The flute and the psaltery make a sweet melody, but a pleasant word is above them both.
22 Your eye desires elegance and beauty, but verdant fields are above these things.
23 A friend and a companion meet one another in time, but above them both is a wife with her husband.
24 Brothers are a help in time of tribulation, but mercy will liberate, more so than they will.
25 Gold and silver provide a firm position for the feet, but well-spoken counsel is above them both.
26 Ability and strength lift up the heart, but the fear of the Lord is above these things.
27 There is no loss in the fear of the Lord, and it has no need to ask for assistance.
28 The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessings, and they have covered it above all glory.
29 Son, in your lifetime you should not be indigent, for it is better to die than to be destitute.
30 The life of him who looks to another man’s table should not be thought of as a way of life. For he feeds his life with another man’s food.
31 But a disciplined and well-taught man will take care of himself.
32 Scarcity will seem sweet to the mouth of the imprudent, but a fire will burn in his belly.
1 O death, how bitter is the memory of you: to a man who has peace in his substance,
2 to a quiet man, and to him whose ways are directed properly in all things, and who still has the strength to take nourishment.
3 O death, your judgment is good to the indigent man, and to him whose strength has diminished,
4 who is failing due to old age, and who is anxious about all things, and to the unbelieving man who has lost patience.
5 Do not choose to dread the judgment of death. Remember the things that occurred before you, and the things that will occur after you. This judgment is from the Lord upon all flesh.
6 And what will happen to you is well-pleasing to the Most High, whether in ten, or one hundred, or one thousand years.
7 For death is no indictment of life.
8 The sons of sinners, and those who pass their time in the manner of the houses of the impious, become sons of abominations.
9 The inheritance of the sons of sinners will perish, and continual disgrace will be with their offspring.
10 The sons of an impious father will complain, for they are in disgrace because of him.
11 Woe to you, impious men, who have abandoned the law of the Most High Lord!
12 And when you are born, you will be born into a curse; and when you die, your portion will be in a curse.
13 All things that are from the earth shall return to the earth. Similarly, the impious will proceed from a curse unto perdition.
14 The grieving of men is in their body, but the name of the impious will be wiped away.
15 Have concern for your good name. For this will continue with you, more so than a thousand precious and great treasures.
16 A good life has its number of days, but a good name will continue forever.
17 Sons, practice discipline peacefully. For what use is there in either concealed wisdom, or undiscovered treasure?
18 Better is the man who hides his foolishness than the man who hides his wisdom.
19 Yet truly, have respect for these things which proceed from my mouth.
20 For it is not good to observe every reverence. And all things do not please all persons in their beliefs.
21 Have shame of these things: of fornication before father and mother, and of a lie before the first leader and the powerful,
22 of a crime before a ruler or a judge, of iniquity before a congregation or a people,
23 of injustice before a companion or a friend, and of the place in which you live,
24 of theft, and of the truth before God, and of the covenant, of reclining to eat bread, and of deceitfulness in giving or receiving,
25 of silence before those who greet you, of looking upon a woman of fornication, and of averting your face from a relative.
26 You should not avert your face from your neighbor, nor should you take away a portion and not restore it.
27 You should not stare at another man’s wife, and nor pursue his handmaid, nor approach her bed.
28 Avoid reproachful speeches before friends, and when you give, you should not place blame.
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1 In the one hundred and forty-ninth year, Judas realized that Antiochus Eupator was coming with a multitude against Judea.
2 And with him was Lysias, the procurator, who was in charge of the government, having with him one hundred and ten thousand foot solders, five thousand horsemen, and twenty-two elephants, and three hundred swift chariots with curved blades.
3 Menelaus also joined himself to them, and with many lies he pleaded with Antiochus, not for the welfare of his country, but hoping that he would be appointed as first ruler.
4 But the King of kings awakened the mind of Antiochus against the sinner. And when Lysias was suggesting this to be the cause of all the evils, he ordered (as is the custom with them) that he should be apprehended and killed in the same place.
5 Now there was, in the same place, a tower of fifty cubits, having a pile of ashes on every side. This had a lookout over a precipice.
6 From there, he ordered this sacrilegious one to be thrown down into the ashes, with all propelling him into the afterlife.
7 And by such a law, it turned out that the betrayer of the law, Menelaus, died, not having so much as a burial in the earth.
8 And indeed, this satisfied justice, for just as he had committed many offenses toward the altar of God, the fire and ashes of which are holy, so was he condemned to die in ashes.
9 But the king, with his mind being unbridled, came to reveal himself as more wicked to the Jews than his father was.
10 When Judas understood this, he instructed the people to call upon the Lord day and night, so that, just as always, now also he would help them.
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth. Who maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the service of men.
9 Who giveth to beasts their food: and to the young ravens that call upon him.
10 He shall not delight in the strength of the horse: nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him: and in them that hope in his mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion.
13 Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee.
14 Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn.
1 And one of the seven Angels, those who hold the seven bowls, approached and spoke with me, saying: “Come, I will show you the condemnation of the great harlot, who sits upon many waters.
2 With her, the kings of the earth have fornicated. And those who inhabit the earth have been inebriated by the wine of her prostitution.”
3 And he carried me away in spirit to the desert. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was clothed all around with purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand, filled with the abomination and with the filth of her fornication.
5 And a name was written upon her forehead: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth.
6 And I saw that the woman was inebriated from the blood of the saints and from the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I was amazed, when I had seen her, with a great wonder.
7 And the Angel said to me: “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that you saw, was, and is not, and is soon to ascend from the abyss. And he goes forth unto destruction. And the inhabitants upon the earth (those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world) shall be amazed upon seeing the beast who was and is not.
9 And this is for one who understands, who has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sits, and they are seven kings.
10 Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived. And when he arrives, he must remain for a brief time.
11 And the beast who was, and is not, the same is also the eighth, and he is of the seven, and he goes forth unto destruction.
12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings; these have not yet received a kingdom, but they shall receive authority, as if they were kings, for one hour, after the beast.
13 These hold to one plan, and they shall hand over their power and authority to the beast.
14 These shall fight against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall conquer them. For he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. And those who are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
15 And he said to me: “The waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and nations and languages.
16 And the ten horns that you saw on the beast, these shall hate the woman who fornicates, and they shall make her desolate and naked, and they shall chew her flesh, and they shall burn her completely with fire.
17 For God has granted to their hearts that they may do to her whatever is pleasing, so that they may give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God may be completed.
18 And the woman that you saw is the great City, which holds a kingdom above that of the kings of the earth.”
