TESTAMENT OF THE 12 SONS OF JACOB
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Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs

I.-The Testament of Reuben Concerning Thoughts
------------1. The copy of the Testament of Reuben, what things he charged his sons before he died in the hundredand twenty-fifth year of his life. When he was sick two years after the death of Joseph, his sons and hissons' sons were gathered together to visit him. And he said to them, My children, I am dying, and gothe way of my fathers. And when he saw there Judah and Gad and Asher, his brethren, he said to them,Raise me up, my brethren, that I may tell to my brethren and to my children what things I have hiddenin my heart, for from henceforth my strength faileth me. And he arose and kissed them, and said,weeping: Hear, my brethren, give ear to Reuben your father, what things I command you. And, behold,I call to witness against you this day the God of heaven, that ye walk not in the ignorance of youth andfornication wherein I ran greedily, and I defiled the bed of Jacob my father. For I tell you that He smoteme with a sore plague in my loins for seven months; and had not Jacob our father prayed for me to theLord, surely the Lord would have destroyed me. For I was thirty years old when I did this evil in thesight of the Lord, and for seven months I was sick even unto death; and I repented for seven years inthe set purpose of my soul before the Lord. Wine and strong drink I drank not, and flesh entered notinto my mouth, and I tasted not pleasant food,1 mourning over my sin, for it was great. And it shall notso be done in Israel.2. And now hear me, my children, what things I saw in my repentance concerning the seven spirits oferror. Seven spirits are given against man from Beliar, and they are chief of the works of youth; andseven spirits are given to him at his creation, that in them should be done every work of man.2 The first(1) spirit is of life, with which man's whole being is created. The second (2) spirit is of sight, withwhich ariseth desire. The third (3) spirit is of hearing, with which cometh teaching. The fourth (4) spiritis of smelling, with which taste is given to draw air and breath. The fifth (5) spirit is of speech, withwhich cometh knowledge. The sixth (6) spirit is of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats anddrinks; and by them strength is produced, for in food is the foundation of strength. The seventh (7)spirit is of begetting and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sin also entereth in:wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first of youth, because it is filled with ignorance,which leadeth the young as a blind man to a pit, and as cattle to a precipice.3. Besides all these, there is an eighth (8) spirit of sleep, with which is created entrancement of man'snature, and the image of death. With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error. The first (1), the spiritof fornication, dwelleth in the nature and in the senses; the second (2) spirit of insatiateness in thebelly; the third (3) spirit of fighting in the liver and the gall. The fourth (4) is the spirit of fawning andtrickery, that through over-officiousness a man may be fair in seeming. The fifth (5) is the spirit ofarrogance, that a man may be stirred up and become high-minded. The sixth (6) is the spirit of lying, inperdition and in jealousy to feign words, and to conceal3 words from kindred and friends. The seventh(7) is the spirit of injustice, with which are theft and pilferings, that a man may work the desire of hisheart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by means of craft. Besides all these, the spiritof sleep, the eighth (8) spirit, is conjoined with error and fantasy. And so perisheth every young man,darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitionsof his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.And now, children, love the truth, and it shall preserve you. I counsel you, hear ye Reuben your father.Pay no heed to the sight of a woman, nor yet associate privately with a female under the authority of ahusband, nor meddle with affairs of womankind. For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place, Ihad not fallen into this great iniquity.4 For my mind, dwelling on the woman's nakedness, suffered menot to sleep until I had done the abominable deed. For while Jacob our father was absent with Isaac hisfather, when we were in Gader, near to Ephratha in Bethlehem, Bilhah was drunk, and lay asleepuncovered in her chamber; and when I went in and beheld her nakedness, I wrought that impiety, andleaving her sleeping I departed. And forthwith an angel of God revealed to my father Jacob concerningmy impiety, and he came and mourned over me, and touched her no more.54. Pay no heed, therefore, to the beauty of women, and muse not upon their doings; but walk insingleness of heart in the fear of the Lord, and be labouring in works, and roaming in study and amongyour flocks, until the Lord give to you a wife whom He will, that ye suffer not as I did. Until myfather's death I had not boldness to look stedfastly into the face of Jacob, or to speak to any of mybrethren, because of my reproach; and even until now my conscience afflicteth me by reason of my sin.And my father comforted me; for he prayed for me unto the Lord, that the anger of the Lord might passaway from me, even as the Lord showed me. From henceforth, then, I was protected, and I sinned not.Therefore, my children, observe all things whatsoever I command you, and ye shall not sin. Forfornication is the destruction of the soul, separating it from God, and bringing it near to idols, becauseit deceiveth the mind and understanding, and bringeth down young men into hell before their time. Formany hath fornication destroyed; because, though a man be old or noble, it maketh him a reproach anda laughing-stock with Beliar and the sons of men. For in that Joseph kept himself from every woman,and purged his thoughts from all fornication, he found favour before the Lord and men. For theEgyptian woman did many things unto him, and called for magicians, and offered him love potions,and the purpose of his soul admitted no evil desire. Therefore the God of my fathers delivered himfrom every visible and hidden death. For if fornication overcome not the mind, neither shall Beliarovercome you.5. Hurtful are women, my children; because, since they have no power or strength over the man, theyact subtilly through outward guise how they may draw him to themselves; and whom they cannotovercome by strength, him they overcome by craft. For moreover the angel of God told me concerningthem, and taught me that women are overcome by the spirit of fornication more than men, and theydevise in their heart against men; and by means of their adornment they deceive first their minds, andinstil the poison by the glance of their eye, and then they take them captive by their doings, for awoman cannot overcome a man by force.Therefore flee fornication, my children, and command your wives and your daughters that they adornnot their heads and their faces; because every woman who acteth deceitfully in these things hath beenreserved to everlasting punishment. For thus they allured the Watchers6 before the flood; and as thesecontinually beheld them, they fell into desire each of the other, and they conceived the act in theirmind, and changed themselves into the shape of men, and appeared to them in their congress with theirhusbands; and the women, having in their minds desire toward their apparitions, gave birth to giants,for the Watchers appeared to them as reaching even unto heaven.76. Beware, therefore, of fornication; and if you wish to be pure in your mind, guard your senses againstevery woman. And command them likewise not to company with men, that they also be pure in theirmind. For constant meetings, even though the ungodly deed be not wrought, are to them anirremediable disease, and to us an everlasting reproach of Beliar; for fornication hath neitherunderstanding nor godliness in itself, and all jealousy dwelleth in the desire thereof. Therefore ye willbe jealous against the sons of Levi, and will seek to be exalted over them; but ye shall not be able, forGod will work their avenging, and ye shall die by an evil death. For to Levi the Lord gave thesovereignty, and to Judah,8 and to me also with them,9 and to Dan and Joseph, that we should be forrulers. Therefore I command you to hearken to Levi, because he shall know the law of the Lord, andshall give ordinances for judgment and sacrifice for all Israel until the completion of the times ofChrist, the High Priest whom the Lord hath declared. I adjure you by the God of heaven to work trutheach one with his neighbour; and draw ye near to Levi in humbleness of heart, that ye may receive ablessing from his mouth. For he shall bless Israel; and specially Judah, because him hath the Lordchosen to rule over all the peoples. And worship we his Seed, because He shall die for us in warsvisible and invisible, and shall be among you an everlasting king.7. And Reuben died after that he had given command to his sons; and they placed him in a coffin untilthey bore him up from Egypt, and buried him in Hebron in the double10 cave where his fathers were.
II.-The Testament of Simeon Concerning Envy.
------------1. The copy of the words of Simeon, what things he spake to his sons before he died, in the hundredand twentieth year of his life, in the year in which Joseph died. For they came to visit him when he wassick, and he strengthened himself and sat up and kissed them, and said to them:-2. Hear, O my children, hear Simeon your father, what things I have in my heart. I was born of Jacobmy father, his second son; and my mother Leah called me Simeon, because the Lord heard herprayer.1 I became strong exceedingly; I shrank from no deed, nor was I afraid of anything. For my heart from the Most High to men in soul and in body. And at that time I was jealous of Joseph because ourfather loved him;2 and I set my mind against him to destroy him, because the prince of deceit sent forththe spirit of jealousy and blinded my mind, that I regarded him not as a brother, and spared not Jacobmy father. But his God and the God of his fathers sent forth His angel, and delivered him out of myhands. For when I went into Shechem to bring ointment for the flocks, and Reuben to Dotham, wherewere our necessaries and all our stores, Judah our brother sold him to the Ishmaelites. And whenReuben came he was grieved, for he wished to have restored him safe to his father.3 But I was wrothagainst Judah in that he let him go away alive, and for five months I continued wrathful against him;but God restrained me, and withheld from me all working of my hands, for my right hand was halfwithered for seven days. And I knew, my children, that because of Joseph this happened to me, and Irepented and wept; and I besought the Lord that He would restore my hand unto me, and that I mightbe kept from all pollution and envy, and from all folly. For I knew that I had devised an evil deedbefore the Lord and Jacob my father, on account of Joseph my brother, in that I envied him.3. And now, children, take heed of the spirit of deceit and of envy. For envy ruleth over the whole mindof a man, and suffereth him neither to eat, nor to drink, nor to do any good thing: it ever suggesteth tohim to destroy him that he envieth; and he that is envied ever flourisheth, but he that envieth fadesaway. Two years of days I afflicted my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord, and I learnt thatdeliverance from envy cometh by the fear of God. If a man flee to the Lord, the evil spirit runneth awayfrom him, and his mind becometh easy. And henceforward he sympathizeth with him whom he envied,and condemneth not those who love him, and so ceaseth from his envy.4. And my father asked concerning me, because he saw that I was sad; and I said, I am pained in myliver. For I mourned more than they all, because I was guilty of the selling of Joseph. And when wewent down into Egypt, and he bound the as a spy, I knew that I was suffering justly, and I grieved not.Now Joseph was a good man, and had the Spirit of God within him: compassionate and pitiful, he borenot malice against me; nay, he loved me even as the rest of his brothers. Take heed, therefore, mychildren, of all jealousy and envy, and walk in singleness of soul and with good heart, keeping in mindthe brother of your father, that God may give to you also grace and glory, and blessing upon yourheads, even as ye saw in him. All his days he reproached us not concerning this thing, but loved us ashis own soul, and beyond his own sons; and he glorified us, and gave riches, and cattle, and fruitsfreely to us all. Do ye then also, my beloved children, love each one his brother with a good heart, andremove from you the spirit of envy, for this maketh savage the soul and destroyeth the body; it turnethhis purposes into anger and war, and stirreth up unto blood, and leadeth the mind into frenzy, andsuffereth not prudence to act in men: moreover, it taketh away sleep, and causeth tumult to the soul andtrembling to the body. For even in sleep some malicious jealousy, deluding him, gnaweth at his soul,and with wicked spirits disturbeth it, and causeth the body to be troubled, and the mind to awake fromsleep in confusion; and as though having a wicked and poisonous spirit, so appeareth it to men.5. Therefore was Joseph fair in appearance, and goodly to look upon, because there dwelt not in himany wickedness; for in trouble of the spirit the face declareth it. And now, my children, make yourhearts good before the Lord, and your ways straight before men, and ye shall find grace before God andmen. And take heed not to commit fornication, for fornication is mother of all evils, separating fromGod, and bringing near to Beliar. For I have seen it inscribed in the writing of Enoch4 that your sonsshall with you be corrupted in fornication, and shall do wrong against Levi with the sword. But theyshall not prevail against Levi, for he shall wage the war of the Lord, and shall conquer all your hosts;and there shall be a few divided in Levi and Judah, and there shall be none5 of you for sovereignty,even as also my father Jacob prophesied in his blessings.6. Behold, I have foretold you all things, that I may be clear from the sin of your souls. Now, if yeremove from you your envy, and all your stiffneckedness, as a rose shall my bones flourish in Israel,and as a lily my flesh in Jacob, and my odour shall be as the odour of Libanus; and as cedars shall holyones be multiplied from me for ever, and their branches shall stretch afar off. Then shall perish the seedof Canaan, and a remnant shall not be to Amalek, and all the Cappadocians6 shall perish, and all theHittites7shall be utterly destroyed. Then shall fail the land of Ham, and every people shall perish. Thenshall all the earth rest from trouble, and all the world under heaven from war. Then shall Shem beglorified, because the Lord God, the Mighty One of Israel, shall appear upon earth as man,8 and savedby Him Adam.9 Then shall all the spirits of deceit be given to be trampled under foot, and men shallrule over the wicked spirits. Then will I arise in joy, and will bless the Most High because of Hismarvellous works, because God hath taken a body and eaten with men and saved men.7. And now, my children, obey Levi, and in Judah shall ye be redeemed:10 and be not lifted up againstthese two tribes, for from them shall arise to you the salvation of God. For the Lord shall raise up fromLevi as it were a Priest,11 and from Judah as it were a King, God and man.12 So shall He save all theGentiles and the race of Israel. Therefore I command you all things, in order that ye also may commandyour children, that they may observe them throughout their generations.8. And Simeon made an end of commanding his sons, and slept with his fathers, being an hundred andtwenty years old. And they laid him in a coffin of incorruptible wood, to take up his bones to Hebron.And they carried them up in a war of the Egyptians secretly: for the bones of Joseph the Egyptiansguarded in the treasure-house of the palace; for the sorcerers told them that at the departure of thebones of Joseph there should be throughout the whole of Egypt darkness and gloom, and an exceedinggreat plague to the Egyptians, so that even with a lamp a man should not recognise his brother.9. And the sons of Simeon bewailed their father according to the law of mourning, and they were inEgypt until the day of their departure from Egypt by the hand of Moses.
IIl.-The Testament of Levi Concerning the Priesthood and Arrogance.
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1. The copy of the words of Levi, what things he appointed to his sons, according to all that they shoulddo, and what things should befall them until the day of judgment. He was in sound health when hecalled them to him, for it had been shown to him that he should die. And when they were gatheredtogether be said to them :-2. I Levi was conceived in Haran and born there, and after that I came with my father to Shechem. AndI was young, about twenty years of age, when with Simeon I wrought the vengeance on Hamor for oursister Dinah. And when we were feeding our flocks in Abel-Maul, a spirit of understanding of the Lordcame upon me,1 and I saw all men corrupting their way, and that unrighteousness had built to itselfwalls, and iniquity sat upon towers; and I grieved for the race of men, and I prayed to the Lord that Imight be saved. Then there fell upon me a sleep, and I beheld a high mountain: this is the mountain ofAspis2 in Abel-Maul. And behold, the heavens were opened, and an angel of God said to me, Levi,enter. And I entered from the first heaven into the second, and I saw there water hanging between theone and the other. And I saw a third heaven far brighter than those two, for there was in it a heightwithout bounds. And I said to the angel, Wherefore is this? And the angel said to me, Marvel not atthese, for thou shall see four other heavens brighter than these, and without comparison, when thoushall have ascended thither: because thou shalt stand near the Lord, and shalt be His minister, and shalldeclare His mysteries to men, and shalt proclaim concerning Him who shall redeem Israel;3 and by theeand Judah shall the Lord appear among men, saving in them every race of men; and of the portion ofthe Lord shall be thy life, and He shall be thy field and vineyard, fruits, gold, silver.3. Hear, then, concerning the seven4 heavens. The lowest is for this cause more gloomy, in that it isnear all the iniquities of men. The second hath fire, snow, ice, ready for the day of the ordinance of theLord, in the righteous judgment of God: in it are all the spirits of the retributions for vengeance on thewicked. In the third are the hosts of the armies which are ordained for the day of judgment, to workvengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar. And the heavens up to the fourth above these are holy,for in the highest of all dwelleth the Great Glory, in the holy of holies, far above all holiness. In theheaven next to it are the angels of the presence of the Lord, who minister and make propitiation to theLord for all the ignorances of the righteous; and they offer to the Lord a reasonable sweet-smellingsavour, and a bloodless offering. And in the heaven below this are the angels who bear the answers tothe angels of the presence of the Lord. And in the heaven next to this are thrones, dominions, in whichhymns are ever offered to God. Therefore, whenever the Lord looketh upon us, all of us are shaken;yea, the heavens, and the earth, and the abysses, are shaken at the presence of His majesty; but the sonsof men, regarding not these things, sin, and provoke the Most High.4. Now, therefore, know that the Lord will execute judgment upon the sons of men; because when therocks are rent,5 and the sun quenched, and the waters dried up, and the fire trembling, and all creationtroubled, and the invisible spirits melting away, and the grave6 spoiled in the suffering of the MostHigh,7 men unbelieving will abide in their iniquity, therefore with punishment shall they be judged.Therefore the Most High hath heard thy prayer, to separate thee from iniquity, and that thou shouldestbecome to Him a son, and a servant, and a minister of His presence. A shining light of knowledge shaltthou shine in Jacob, and as the sun shalt thou be to all the seed of Israel. And a blessing shall be givento thee, and to all thy seed, until the Lord shall visit all the heathen in the tender mercies of His Son,even for ever. Nevertheless thy sons shall lay hands upon Him to crucify Him; and therefore havecounsel and understanding been given thee, that thou mightest instruct thy sons concerning Him,because he that blesseth Him shall be blessed, but they that curse Him shall perish.5. And the angel opened to me the gates of heaven, and I saw the holy temple, and the Most High upona throne of glory. And He said to me, Levi, I have given thee the blessings of the priesthood until that Ishall come and sojourn in the midst of Israel. Then the angel brought me to the earth, and gave me ashield and a sword, and said, Work vengeance on Shechem because of Dinah, and I will be with thee,because the Lord hath sent me. And I destroyed at that time the sons of Hamor, as it is written in theheavenly tablets.8 And I said to Him, I pray Thee, O Lord, tell me Thy name, that I may call upon Theein a day of tribulation. And He said, I am the angel who intercedeth for the race of Israel, that He smitethem not utterly, because every evil spirit attacketh it. And after these things I was as it were awaked,and blessed the Most High, and the angel that intercedeth for the race of Israel, and for all therighteous.96. And when I came to my father I found a brazen shield;10 wherefore also the name of the mountain isAspis, which is near Gebal, on the right side of Abila; and I kept these words in my heart. I tookcounsel with my father, and with Reuben my brother, that he should bid the sons of Hamor that theyshould be circumcised; for I was jealous because of the abomination which they had wrought in Israel.And I slew Shechem at the first, and Simeon slew Hamor. And after this our brethren came and smotethe city with the edge of the sword; and our father heard it and was wroth, and he was grieved in thatthey had received the circumcision, and after that had been put to death, and in his blessings he dealtotherwise with us. For we sinned because we had done this thing against his will, and he was sick uponthat day. But I knew that the sentence of God was for evil upon Shechem; for they sought to do toSarah as they did to Dinah our sister, and the Lord hindered them. And so they persecuted Abraham ourfather when he was a stranger, and they harried his flocks when they were multiplied upon him; andJeblae his servant, born in his house, they shamefully handled. And thus they did to all strangers, takingaway their wives by force, and the men themselves driving into exile. But the wrath of the Lord camesuddenly upon them to the uttermost.117. And I said to my father, Be not angry, sir, because by thee will the Lord bring to nought theCanaanites, and will give their land to thee, and to thy seed after thee. For from this day forward shallShechem be called a city of them that are without understanding; for as a man mocketh at a fool, so didwe mock them, because they wrought folly in Israel to defile our sister. And we took our sister fromthence, and departed, and came to Bethel.8. And there I saw a thing again even as the former, after we had passed seventy days. And I saw sevenmen in white raiment saying to me, Arise, put on the robe of the priesthood, and the crown ofrighteousness, and the breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth, and the diadem of faith,and the tiara of miracle, and the ephod of prophecy.12 And each one of them bearing each of thesethings put them on me, and said, From henceforth become a priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed forever. And the first anointed me with holy oil, and gave to me the rod of judgment. The second washedme with pure water, and fed me with bread and wine, the most holy things,13 and clad me with a holyand glorious robe. The third clothed me with a linen vestment like to an ephod. The fourth put roundme a girdle like unto purple. The fifth gave to me a branch of rich olive. The sixth placed a crown onmy head. The seventh placed on my head a diadem of priesthood, and filled my hands with incense, sothat I served as a priest to the Lord. And they said to me, Levi, thy seed shall be divided into threebranches,14 for a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come; and first shall he be that hath beenfaithful; no portion shall be greater than his. The second shall be in the priesthood. The third-a newname shall be called over Him, because He shall arise as King from Judah, and shall establish a newpriesthood, after the fashion of the Gentiles, to all the Gentiles.15 And His appearing shall beunutterable, as of an exalted16 prophet of the seed of Abraham our father. Every desirable thing inIsrael shall be for thee and for thy seed, and everything fair to look upon shall ye eat, and the table ofthe Lord shall thy seed apportion, and some of them shall be high priests, and judges, and scribes; forby their mouth shall the holy place be guarded. And when I awoke, I understood that this thing was likeunto the former. And I hid this also in my heart, and told it not to any man upon the earth.9. And after two days I and Judah went up to Isaac after17 our father; and the father of my fatherblessed me according to all the words of the visions which I had seen: and he would not come with usto Bethel. And when we came to Bethel, my father Jacob saw in a vision concerning me, that I shouldbe to them for a priest unto the Lord; and he rose up early in the morning, and paid tithes of all to theLord through me. And we came to Hebron to dwell there, and Isaac called me continually to put me inremembrance of the law of the Lord, even as the angel of God showed to me. And he taught me the lawof the priesthood, of sacrifices, whole burnt-offerings, first-fruits, free-will offerings, thank-offerings.And each day he was instructing me, and was busied for me before the Lord. And he said to me, Takeheed, my child, of the spirit of fornication; for this shall continue, and shall by thy seed pollute the holythings. Take therefore to thyself, while yet thou art young, a wife, not having blemish, nor yet polluted,nor of the race of the Philistines or Gentiles. And before entering into the holy place, bathe;18 and whenthou offerest the sacrifice, wash; and again when thou finishest the sacrifice, wash. Of twelve trees everhaving leaves, offer up the fruits to the Lord, as also Abraham taught me; and of every clean beast andclean bird offer a sacrifice to the Lord, and of every firstling and of wine offer first-fruits; and everysacrifice thou shalt salt with salt.1910. Now, therefore, observe whatsoever I command you, children; for whatsoever things I have heardfrom my fathers I have made known to you. I am clear from all your ungodliness and transgressionwhich ye will do in the end of the ages against the Saviour of the world, acting ungodly, deceivingIsrael, and raising up against it great evils from the Lord.20 And ye will deal lawlessly with Israel, sothat Jerusalem shall not endure your wickedness; but the veil of the temple shall be rent, so as not tocover your shame. And ye shall be scattered as captives among the heathen, and shall be for a reproachand for a curse, and for a trampling under foot. For the house which the Lord shall choose shall becalled Jerusalem, as is contained in the book of Enoch the righteous.2111. Therefore, when I took a wife I was twenty-eight years old, and her name was Melcha. And sheconceived and bare a son, and she called his name Gersham, for we were sojourners in our land: forGersham is interpreted sojourning. And I saw concerning him that he would not be in the first rank.And Kohath was born in my thirty-fifth year, towards the east. And I saw in a vision that he wasstanding on high in the midst of all the congregation. Therefore I called his name Kohath, whichmeaneth, beginning of majesty and instruction. And thirdly, she bare to me Merari, in the fortieth yearof my life; and since his mother bare him with difficulty, she called him Merari, which meaneth mybitterness, because he also died. And Jochebed was born in my sixty-fourth year, in Egypt, for I wasrenowned then in the midst of my brethren.12. And Gersham took a wife, and she bare to him Lomni and Semei. And the sons of Kohath,Ambram, Isaar, Chebro, and Ozel. And the sons of Merari, Mooli and Homusi. And in my ninety-fourthyear Ambram took Jochebed my daughter to him to wife, for they were born in one day, he and mydaughter. Eight years old was I when I went into the land of Canaan, and eighteen years when I slewShechem, and at nineteen years I became priest, and at twenty-eight years I took a wife, and at fortyyears I went into Egypt. And behold, ye are my children, my children even of a third generation. In myhundred and eighteenth year Joseph died.13. And now, my children, I command you that ye fear (respect) our Lord with your whole heart, and walk insimplicity according to all His law. And do ye also teach your children learning, that they may haveunderstanding in all their life, reading unceasingly the law of God; for every one who shall know thelaw of God shall be honoured, and shall not be a stranger wheresoever he goeth. Yea, many friendsshall he gain more than his forefathers; and many men shall desire to serve him, and to hear the lawfrom his mouth. Work righteousness, my children, upon the earth, that ye may find treasure in theheavens, and sow good things in your souls, that ye may find them in your life. For if ye sow evilthings, ye shall reap all trouble and affliction. Get wisdom in the fear(respect) of God with diligence; for thoughthere shall be a leading into captivity, and cities be destroyed, and lands and gold and silver and everypossession shall perish, the wisdom of the wise none can take away, save the blindness of ungodlinessand the palsy of sin: for even among his enemies shall it be to him glorious, and in a strange country ahome, and in the midst of foes shall it be found a friend. If a man teach these things and do them, heshall be enthroned with kings, as was also Joseph our brother.
14. And now, my children, I have learnt from the writing of Enoch that at the last ye will deal ungodly,laying your hands upon the Lord in all malice; and your brethren shall be ashamed because of you, andto all the Gentiles shall it become a mocking. For our father Israel shall be pure from the ungodliness ofthe chief priests who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour of the world. Pure is the heaven above theearth, and ye are the lights of the heaven as the sun and the moon. What shall all the Gentiles do if yebe darkened in ungodliness? So shall ye bring a curse upon our race for whom came the light of the