TESTAMENT OF REUBEN
The First-Born Son of Jacob and Leah.
CHAP. I.
Reuben, the first-born son of Jacob and Leah. The man of experience counsels against fornication and points out the
ways in. which men are most apt to fall into error.
THE Copy of the Testament of Reuben, even
the commands which he gave his sons before he died in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life.
2 Two years after the death of Joseph his
brother, when Reuben fell ill, his sons and his sons' sons were gathered together to visit him.
3 And he said to them: My children, behold
I am dying, and go the way of my fathers.
4 And seeing there Judah, and Gad, and Asher,
his brethren, he said to them: Raise me up that I may tell to my brethren and to my children what things I have hidden in
my heart, for
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behold now at length I am passing away.
5 And he arose and kissed them, and said
unto them: Hear, my brethren, and do ye my children, give ear to Reuben your father, in the commands which I give unto you.
6 And behold I call to witness against you
this day the God of heaven, that ye walk not in the sins of youth and fornication, wherein I was poured out, and defiled the
bed of my father Jacob.
7 And I tell you that he smote me with a
sore plague in my loins for seven months; and had not my father Jamb prayed for me to the Lord, the Lord would have destroyed
me.
8 For I was thirty years old when I wrought
the evil thing before the Lord, and for seven months I was sick unto death.
9 And after this I repented with set purpose
of my soul for seven years before the Lord.
10 And wine and strong drink I drank not,
and flesh entered not into my mouth, and I ate no pleasant food; but I mourned over my sin, for it was great, such as had
not been in Israel.
11 And now hear me, my children, what things
I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit, when I repented.
12 Seven spirits therefore are appointed
against man, and they are the leaders in the works of youth.
13 And seven other spirits are given to
him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man.
14 The first is the spirit of life, with
which the constitution of man is created.
15 The second is the sense of sight, with
which ariseth desire.
16 The third is the sense of hearing, with
which cometh teaching.
17 The fourth is the sense of smell, with
which tastes are given to draw air and breath.
18 The fifth is the power of speech, with
which cometh knowledge.
19 The sixth is the sense of taste, with
which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation. of strength.
20 The seventh is the power of procreation
and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in.
21 Wherefore it is the last in order of
creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit,
and as a beast to a precipice.
22 Besides all these there is an eighth
spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the of death.
23 With these spirits are mingled the spirits
of error.
24 First, the spirit of fornication is seated
in the nature and in the senses;
25 The second, the spirit of insatiableness
in the belly;
26 The third, the spirit of fighting, in
the liver and gall.
27 The fourth is the spirit of obsequiousness
and chicanery, that through officious attention one may be fair in seeming.
28 The fifth is the spirit of pride, that
one may be boastful and arrogant.
29 The sixth is the spirit of lying, in
perdition and jealousy to practise deceits, and concealments from kindred and friends.
30 The seventh is the spirit of injustice,
with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfil the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together
with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.
31 And with all these the spirit of sleep
is joined which is that of error and fantasy.
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32 And so perisheth every young man, darkening
his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also
in my youth.
33 And now, my children, love the truth,
and it will preserve you: hear ye the words of Reuben your father.
34 Pay no heed to the face of a woman,
35 Nor associate with another man's wife,
36 Nor meddle with affairs of womankind.
37 For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in
a covered place, I had not fallen into this great iniquity.
38 For my mind taking in the thought of
the woman's nakedness, suffered me not to sleep until I had wrought the abominable thing.
39 For while Jacob our father had gone to
Isaac his father, when we were in Eder, near to Ephrath in Bethlehem, Bilhah became drunk and was asleep uncovered in her
chamber.
40 Having therefore gone in and beheld her
nakedness, I wrought the impiety without her perceiving it, and leaving her sleeping departed.
41 And forthwith an angel of God revealed
to my father concerning my impiety, and he came and mourned over me, and touched her no more.
CHAP. II.
Reuben continues with his experiences and his good advice.
PAY no heed, therefore, my children, to
the beauty of women, nor set your mind--on their affairs; but walk in singleness of heart in the fear of the Lord, and expend
labour on good works, and on study and on your flocks, until the Lord give you a wife, whom He will, that ye suffer not as
I did.
2 For until my father's death I had not
boldness to look in his face, or to speak to any of my brethren, because of the reproach.
3 Even until now my conscience causeth me
anguish on account of my impiety.
4 And yet my father comforted me much, and
prayed for me unto the Lord, that the anger of the Lord might pass from me, even as the Lord showed.
5 And thenceforth until now I have been
on my guard and sinned not.
6 Therefore, my children, I say unto you,
observe all things whatsoever I command you, and ye shall not sin.
7 For a pit unto the soul is the sin of
fornication, separating it from God, and bringing it near to idols, because it deceiveth the mind and understanding, and leadeth
down young men into Hades before their time.
8 For many hath fornication destroyed; because,
though a man be old or noble, or rich or poor, he bringeth reproach upon himself with the sons of men and derision with Beliar.
9 For ye heard regarding Joseph how he guarded
himself from a woman, and purged his thoughts from all fornication, and found favour in the sight of God and men.
10 For the Egyptian woman did many things
unto him, and summoned magicians, and offered him love potions, but the purpose of his soul admitted no evil desire.
11 Therefore the God of your fathers delivered
him from every evil and hidden death.
12 For if fornication overcomes not your
mind, neither can Beliar overcome you.
13 For evil are women, my children; and
since they have
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no power or strength over man, they use
wiles by outward attractions, that they may draw him to themselves.
14 And whom they cannot bewitch by outward
attractions, him they overcome by craft.
15 For moreover, concerning them, the angel
of the Lord told me, and taught me, that women are overcome by the spirit of fornication more than men, and in their heart
they plot against men; and by means of their adornment they deceive first their minds, and by the glance of the eye instil
the poison, and then through the accomplished act they take them captive.
16 For a woman cannot force a man openly,
but by a harlot's bearing she beguiles him.
17 Flee, therefore, fornication, my children,
and command your wives and your daughters, that they adorn not their heads and faces to deceive the mind: because every woman
who useth these wiles bath been reserved for eternal punishment.
18 For thus they allured the Watchers 1 who were before the flood; for as these continually beheld them, they
lusted after them, and they conceived the act in their mind; for they changed themselves into the shape of men, and appeared
to them when they were with their husbands.
19 And the women lusting in their minds
after their forms, gave birth to giants, for the Watchers appeared to them as reaching even unto heaven.
20 Beware, therefore, of fornication; and
if you wish to be pure in mind, guard your senses from every woman.
21 And command the women likewise not to
associate with men, that they also may be pure in mind.
22 For constant meetings, even though the
ungodly deed be not wrought, are to them an irremediable disease, and to us a destruction of Beliar and an eternal reproach.
23 For in fornication there is neither understanding
nor godliness, and all jealousy dwelleth in the lust thereof.
24 Therefore, then I say unto you, ye will
be jealous against the sons of Levi, and will seek to be exalted over them; but ye shall not be able.
25 For God will avenge them, and ye shall
die by an evil death. For to Levi God gave the sovereignty and to Judah with him and to me also, and to Dan and Joseph, that
we should be for rulers.
26 Therefore I command you to hearken to
Levi, because he shall know the law of the Lord, and shall give ordinances for judgement and shall sacrifice for all Israel
until the consummation of the times, as the anointed High Priest, of whom the Lord spake.
27 I adjure you by the God of heaven to
do truth each one unto his neighbour and to entertain love each one for his brother.
28 And draw ye near to Levi in humbleness,
of heart, that ye may receive a blessing from his mouth.
29 For he shall bless Israel and Judah,
because him hath the Lord chosen to be king over all the nation.
30 And bow down before his seed, for on
our behalf it will die in wars visible and invisible, and will be among you an eternal king.
31 And Reuben died, having given these commands
to his sons. And they placed him in a coffin until they carried him up from Egypt, and buried him in Hebron in the cave where
his father was.
Footnotes
223:1 See The Second Book of Adam and Eve, Chapter XX
TESTAMENT OF SIMEON
The Second Son of Jacob and Leah.
CHAP. I.
Simeon, the second son of Jacob and Leah. The strong man. He becomes jealous of Joseph and is an instigator of the
plot against Joseph.
THE copy of the words of Simeon, the things
which he spake to his sons before he died, in the hundred and twentieth year of his life, at which time Joseph, his brother,
died.
2 For when Simeon was sick, his sons came
to visit him. and he strengthened himself and sat up and kissed them, and said:--
3 Hearken, my children, to Simeon your father
and I will declare unto you what things I have in my heart.
4 I was born of Jacob as my father's second
son; and my mother Leah called me Simeon, because the Lord had heard her prayer.
5 Moreover, I became strong exceedingly;
I shrank from no achievement nor was I afraid of ought. For my heart was hard, and my liver was immovable, and my bowels without
compassion.
6 Because valour also has been given from
the Most High to men in soul and body.
7 For in the time of my youth I was jealous
in many things of Joseph, because my father loved him beyond all.
8 And I set my mind against him to destroy
him because the prince of deceit sent forth the spirit of jealousy and blinded my mind, so that I regarded him not as a brother,
nor did I spare even Jacob my father.
9 But his God and the God of his fathers
sent forth His angel, and delivered him out of my hands.
10 For when I went to Shechem to bring ointment
for the flocks, and Reuben to Dothan, where were our necessaries and all our stores, Judah my brother sold him to the Ishmaelites.
11 And when Reuben heard these things he
was grieved, for he wished to restore him to his father.
12 But on hearing this I was exceedingly
wroth against Judah in that he let him go away alive, and for five months I continued wrathful against him.
13 But the Lord restrained me, and withheld
from me the power of my hands; for my right hand was half withered for seven days.
14 And I knew, my children, that because
of Joseph this had befallen me, and I repented and wept; and I besought the Lord God that my hand might be restored and that
I might hold aloof from all pollution and envy and from all folly.
15 For I knew that I had devised an evil
thing before the Lord and Jacob my father, on account of Joseph my brother, in that I envied him.
16 And now, my children, hearken unto me
and beware of the spirit of deceit and envy.
17 For envy ruleth over the whole mind of
a man, and suffereth him neither to eat nor to drink, nor to do any good thing. But it ever suggesteth to him to destroy him
that he envieth; and so long as he that is envied flourisheth, he that envieth fadeth away.
18 Two years therefore I afflicted my soul
with fasting in the fear of the Lord, and I learnt that deliverance from envy cometh by the fear of God.
19 For if a man flee to the
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Lord, the evil spirit runneth away from
him and his mind is lightened.
20 And henceforward he sympathiseth with
him whom he envied and forgiveth those who are hostile to him, and so ceaseth from his envy.
CHAP. III.
A prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.
BEHOLD I have told you all things, that
I may be acquitted of your sin.
2 Now, if ye remove from you your envy and
all stiff-neckedness, is 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 holy ones be multiplied from me
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for ever, and their branches shall stretch
afar off.
3 Then shall perish the seed of Canaan,
and a remnant shall not be unto Amalek, and all the Cappadocians shall perish, and all Hittites shall be utterly destroyed.
4 Then shall fail the land of Ham, and all
the people shall perish.
5 Then shall all the earth rest from trouble,
and all the world under heaven from war.
6 Then the Mighty One of Israel shall glorify
Shem.
7 For the Lord God shall appear on earth,
and Himself save men,
8 Then shall all the spirits of deceit be
given to be trodden under foot, and men shall, rule over wicked spirits.
9 Then shall I arise in Joy and will bless
the Most High because of his marvellous works, because God hath taken a body and eaten with men and saved men.
10 And now, my children,, and Judah, and
obey Levi and Judah, and be not lifted up against these two tribes, for from them shall arise unto you the salvation of God.
11 For the Lord shall raise up from Levi
as it were a High Priest, and from Judah as it were a King, God and man, He shall save all the Gentiles and the race of Israel.
12 Therefore I give you these commands that
ye also may command your children, that they may observe them throughout their generations.
13 And when Simeon had made an end of commanding
his sons, he slept with fathers, an hundred and twenty years old.
14 And they laid him in a wooden coffin,
to take up his bones to Hebron. And they took them up secretly during a war of the Egyptians. For the bones of Joseph the
Egyptians guarded in the tombs of the kings.
15 For the sorcerers told them, that on
the departure of the bones of Joseph there should be throughout all the land darkness and gloom, and an exceeding great plague
to the Egyptians, so that even with a lamp a man should not recognize his brother.
16 And the sons of Simeon bewailed their
father.
17 And they were in Egypt until the day
of their departure by the hand of Moses.
TESTAMENT OF LEVI
The Third Son of Jacob and Leah.
CHAP. I.
Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. A mystic and dreamer of dreams, a prophet.
THE copy of the words of Levi, the things
which he ordained unto his sons, according to all that they should do, and what things should befall them until the day of
judgement.
2 He was sound in health when he called
them to him; for it had been revealed to him that he should die.
3 And when they were gathered together he
said to them:
4 I, Levi, was born in Haran, and I came
with my father to Shechem.
5 And I was young, about twenty years of
age, when, with Simeon, I wrought vengeance on Hamor for our sister Dinah.
6 And when I was feeding the flocks in Abel-Maul,
the spirit of understand of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all men corrupting their way, and that unrighteousness
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had built for itself walls, and lawlessness
sat upon towers.
7 And I was grieving for the race of the
sons of men, and I prayed to the Lord that I might be saved.
8 Then there fell upon me a sleep, and I
beheld a high mountain, and I was upon it.
9 And behold the heavens were opened, and
an angel of God said to me, Levi, enter.
10 And I entered from the first heaven,
and I saw there a great sea hanging.
11 And further I saw a second heaven far
brighter and more brilliant, for there was a boundless light also therein,
12 And I said to the angel, Why is this
so? And the angel said to me, Marvel not at this, for thou shalt see another heaven more brilliant and incomparable.
13 And when thou hast ascended thither,
Thou shalt stand near the Lord, and shalt be His minister, and shalt, declare His mysteries to men, and shalt proclaim concerning
Him that shall redeem Israel.
14 And by thee and Judah shall the Lord
appear among men, saving every race of men.
15 And from the Lord's portion shall be
thy life, and He shall be thy field and vineyard, and fruits, gold, and silver.
16 Hear, therefore, regarding the heavens
which have been shown to thee.
17 The lowest is for this cause gloomy unto
thee, in that it beholds all the unrighteous deeds of men.
18 And it has fire, snow, and ice made ready
for the day of judgement, in the righteous judgement of God; for in it are all the spirits of the retributions for vengeance
on men.
19 And in the second are the hosts Of the
armies which are ordained for the day of judgement, to work vengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar.
20 And above them are the holy ones.
21 And in the highest of all dwelleth the
Great Glory, far above all holiness.
22 In the heaven next to it are the archangels,
who minister and make propitiation to the Lord for all the sins of ignorance of the righteous;
23 Offering to the Lord a sweet smelling
savour, a reasonable and a bloodless offering.
24 And in the heaven below this are the
angels who bear answers to the angels of the presence of the Lord.
25 And in the heaven next to this are thrones
and dominions, in which always they offer praise to God.
26 When, therefore, 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.
27 But the sons of men, having no perception
of these things, sin and provoke the Most High.
CHAP. II.
Levi urges piety and education.
NOW, therefore, know that the Lord shall
execute judgement upon the sons of men.
2 Because when the rocks are being rent,
and the sun quenched, and the waters dried up, and the fire cowering, and all creation troubled, and the invisible spirits
melting away, and Hades taketh spoils through the visitations of the Most High, men will be unbelieving and persist in their
iniquity.
3 On this account with punishment shall
they be judged.
4 Therefore the Most High hath heard thy
prayer, to separate
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thee from iniquity, and that thou shouldst
become to Him a son, and a servant, and a minister of His presence.
5 The light of knowledge shalt thou light
up in Jacob, and as the sun shalt thou be to all the seed of Israel.
6 And there shall be given to thee a blessing,
and to all thy seed until the Lord shall visit all the Gentiles in His tender mercies for ever.
7 And therefore there have been given to
thee counsel and understanding, that thou mightest instruct thy sons concerning this;
8 Because they that bless Him shall be blessed,
and they that curse Him shall perish.
9 And thereupon the angel opened to me the
gates of heaven, and I saw the holy temple, and upon a throne of glory the Most High.
10 And He said to me: Levi, I have given
thee the blessing of the priesthood until I come and sojourn in the midst of Israel.
11 Then the angel brought me down to the
earth, and gave me a shield and a sword, and said to me: Execute vengeance on Shechem because of Dinah, thy sister, and I
will be with thee because the Lord hath sent me.
12 And I destroyed at that time the sons
of Hamor, as it is written in the heavenly tables.
13 And I said to him: I pray thee, O Lord,
tell me Thy name, that I may call upon Thee in a day of tribulation.
14 And he said: I am the angel who intercedeth
for the nation of Israel that they may not be smitten utterly, for every evil spirit attacketh it.
15 And after these things I awaked, and
blessed the Most High, and the angel who intercedeth for the nation of Israel and for all the righteous.
CHAP. III.
Levi has visions and shows what rewards are in store for the righteous.
AND when I was going to my father, I found
a brazen shield; wherefore also the name of the mountain is Aspis, which is near Gebal, to the south of Abila.
2 And I kept these words in my heart. And
after this I counselled my father, and Reuben my brother, to bid the sons of Hamor not to be circumcised; for I was zealous
because of the abomination which they had wrought on my sister.
3 And I slew Shechem first, and Simeon slew
Hamor. And after this my brothers came and smote that city with the edge of the sword.
4 And my father heard these things and was
wroth, and he was grieved in that they had received the circumcision, and after that had been put to death, and in his blessings
he looked amiss upon us.
5 For we sinned because we had done this
thing against his will, and he was sick on that day.
6 But I saw that the sentence of God was
for evil upon Shechem; for they sought to do to Sarah and Rebecca as they had done to Dinah our sister, but the Lord prevented
them.
7 And they persecuted Abraham our father
when he was a stranger, and they vexed his flocks when they were big with young; and Eblaen, who was born in his house, they
most shamefully handled.
8 And thus they did to all strangers, taking
away their wives by force, and they banished them.
9 But the wrath of the Lord came upon them
to the uttermost.
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10 And I said to my father Jacob: By thee
will the Lord despoil the Canaanites, and will give their land to thee and to thy seed after thee.
11 For from this day forward shall Shechem
be called a city of imbeciles; for as a man mocketh a fool, so did we mock them.
12 Because also they had wrought folly in
Israel by defiling my sister. And we departed and came to Bethel.
13 And there again I saw a vision as the
former, after we had spent there seventy days.
14 And I saw seven men in white raiment
saying unto me: Arise, put on the robe of the priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the breastplate of understanding,
and the garment of truth, and the late of faith, and the turban of the head, and the ephod of prophecy.
15 And they severally carried these things
and put them on me, and said unto me: From henceforth become a priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed for ever.
16 And the first anointed me with holy oil,
and gave to me the staff of judgement.
17 The second washed me with pure. water,
and fed me with bread and wine even the most holy things, and clad me with a holy and glorious robe.
18 The third clothed me with a linen vestment
like an ephod.
19 The fourth put round me a girdle like
unto purple.
20 The fifth gave me a branch of rich olive.
21 The sixth placed a crown on my head.
22 The seventh placed on my head a diadem
of priesthood, and filled my hands with incense, that I might serve as priest to the Lord God.
23 And they said to me: Levi, thy seed shall
be divided into three offices, for a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come.
24 And the first portion shall be great;
yea, greater than it shall none be.
25 The second shall be in the priesthood.
26 And the third shall be called by a new
name, because a king shall arise in Judah, and shall establish a new priesthood, after the fashion of the Gentiles.
27 And His presence is beloved, as a prophet
of the Most High, of the seed of Abraham our father.
28 Therefore, every desirable thing in Israel
shall be for thee and for thy seed, and ye shall eat everything fair to look upon, and the table of the Lord shall thy seed
apportion.
29 And some of them shall be high priests,
and judges, and scribes; for by their mouth shall the holy place be guarded.
30 And when I awoke, I understood that this
dream was like the first dream. And I hid this also in my heart, and told it not to any man upon the earth.
31 And after two days I and Judah went up
with our father Jacob to Isaac our father's father.
32 And my father's father blessed me according
to all the words of the visions which I had seen. And he would not come with us to Bethel.
33 And when we came to Bethel, my father
saw a vision concerning me, that I should be their priest unto God.
34 And he rose up early in the morning,
and paid tithes of all to the Lord through me. And so we came to Hebron to dwell there.
35 And Isaac called me continually to put
me in remembrance of the law of the Lord, even as the angel of the Lord showed unto me.
36 And he taught me the law of the priesthood
of sacrifices,
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whole burnt-offerings, first-fruits, freewill-offerings,
peace-offerings.
37 And each day he was instructing me, and
was busied on my behalf before the Lord, and said to me: Beware of the spirit of fornication; for this shall continue and
shall by thy seed pollute the holy place.
38 Take, therefore, to thyself a wife without
blemish or pollution, while yet thou are young, and not of the race of strange nations.
39 And before entering into the holy place,
bathe; and when thou offerest the sacrifice, wash; and again, when thou finishest the sacrifice, wash.
40 Of twelve trees having leaves offer to
the Lord, as Abraham taught me also.
41 And of every clean beast and bird offer
a sacrifice to the Lord.
42 And of all thy first-fruits and of wine
offer the first, as a sacrifice to the Lord God; and every sacrifice thou shalt salt with salt.
43 Now, therefore, observe whatsoever I
command you, children; for whatsoever things I have heard from my fathers I have declared unto you.
44 And behold I am clear from your ungodliness
and transgression, which ye shall commit in the end of the ages against the Saviour of the world, Christ, acting godlessly,
deceiving Israel, and stirring up against it great evils from the Lord.
45 And ye shall deal lawlessly together
with Israel, so He shall not bear with Jerusalem because of your wickedness; but the veil of the temple shall be rent, so
as not to cover your shame.
46 And ye shall be scattered as captives
among the Gentiles, and shall be for a reproach and for a curse there.
47 For the house which the Lord shall choose
shall be called Jerusalem, as is contained in the book of Enoch the righteous.
48 Therefore when I took a wife I was twenty-eight
years old, and her name was Melcha.
49 And she conceived and bare a son, and
I called his name Gersam, for we were sojourners in our land.
50 And I saw concerning him, that he would
not be in the first rank.
51 And Kohath was born in the thirty-fifth
year of my life, towards sunrise.
52 And I saw in a vision that he was standing
on high in the midst of all the congregation.
53 Therefore I called his name Kohath which
is, beginning of majesty and instruction.
54 And she bare me a third son, in the fortieth
year of my life; and since his mother bare him with difficulty, I called him Merari, that is, 'my bitterness,' because he
also was like to die.
55 And Jochebed was born. in Egypt, in my
sixty-fourth year, for I was renowned then in the midst of my brethren.
56 And Gersam took a wife, and she bare
to him Lomni and Semei. And the sons of Kohath, Ambram, Issachar, Hebron, and Ozeel. And the sons of Merari, Mooli, and Mouses.
57 And in the ninety-fourth year Ambram
took Jochebed my daughter to him to wife, for they were born in one day, he and my daughter.
58 Eight years old was I when I went into
the land of Canaan, and eighteen years when I slew Shechem, and at nineteen years I became priest, and at twenty-eight years
I took a wife, and at forty-eight I went into Egypt.
59 And behold, my children, ye are a third
generation. In my hundred and eighteenth year Joseph died.
CHAP. IV.
Levi shows how wisdom survives destruction. He has no use for scornful people.
AND now, my children, I command you: Fear
the Lord your God with your whole heart, and walk in simplicity according to all His law.
2 And do ye also teach your children letters,
that they may have understanding all their life, reading unceasingly the law of God.
3 For every one that knoweth the law of
the Lord shall be honoured, and shall not be a stranger whithersoever he goeth.
4 Yea, many friends shall he gain more than
his parents, and many men shall desire to serve him, and to hear the law from his mouth.
5 Work righteousness, therefore, my children,
upon the earth, that ye may have it as a treasure in heaven.
6 And sow good things in your souls, that
ye may find them in your life.
7 But if ye sow evil things, ye shall reap
every trouble and affliction.
8 Get wisdom in the fear of God with diligence;
for though there be a leading into captivity, and cities and lands be destroyed, and gold and silver and every possession
perish, the wisdom of the wise nought can take away, save the blindness of ungodliness, and the callousness that comes of
sin.
9 For if one keep oneself from these evil
things, then even among his enemies shall wisdom be a glory to him, and in a strange country a fatherland, and in the midst
of foes shall prove a friend.
10 Whosoever teaches noble things and does
them, shall be enthroned with kings, as was also Joseph my brother.
11 Therefore, my children, I have learnt
that at the end of the ages ye will transgress against the Lord, stretching out hands to wickedness against Him; and to all
the Gentiles shall ye become a scorn.
12 For our father Israel is pure from the
transgressions of the chief priests [who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour of the world].
13 For as the heaven is purer in the Lord's
sight than the earth, so also be ye, the lights of Israel, purer than all the Gentiles.
14 But if ye be darkened through transgressions,
what, therefore, will all the Gentiles do living in blindness?
15 Yea, ye shall bring a curse upon our
race, because the light of the law which was given for to lighten every man this ye desire to destroy by teaching commandments
contrary to the ordinances of God.
16 The offerings of the Lord ye shall rob,
and from His portion shall ye steal choice portions, eating them contemptuously with harlots.
17 And out of covetousness ye shall teach
the commandments of the Lord, wedded women shall ye pollute, and the virgins of Jerusalem shall ye defile; and with harlots
and adulteresses shall ye be joined, and the daughters of the Gentiles shall ye take to wife, purifying them with an unlawful
purification; and your union shall be like unto Sodom and Gomorrah,
18 And ye shall be puffed up because of
your priesthood, lifting yourselves up against men, and not only so, but also against the commands of God.
19 For ye shall contemn the holy things
with jests and laughter.
20 Therefore the temple, which the Lord
shall choose, shall be laid waste through your
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uncleanness, and ye shall be captives throughout
all nations.
21 And ye shall be an abomination unto them,
and ye shall receive reproach and everlasting shame from the righteous judgement of God.
22 And all who hate you shall rejoice at
your destruction.
23 And if you were not to receive mercy
through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers, not one of our seed should be left upon the earth.
24 And now I have learnt that for seventy
weeks ye shall go astray, and profane the priesthood, and pollute the sacrifices.
25 And ye shall make void the law, and set
at nought the words of the prophets by evil perverseness.
26 And ye shall persecute righteous men,
and hate the godly; the words of the faithful shall ye abhor.
27 And a man who reneweth the law in the
power of the Most High, ye shall call a deceiver; and at last ye shall rush upon him to slay him, not knowing his dignity,
taking innocent blood through wickedness upon your heads.
28 And your holy places shall be laid waste
even to the ground because of him.
29 And ye shall have no place that is clean;
but ye shall be among the Gentiles a curse and a dispersion until He shall again visit you, and in pity shall receive you
through faith and water.
CHAP. V.
He prophesies the coming of the Messiah. This was written 100 years before Christ.
AND whereas ye have heard concerning the
seventy weeks, hear also concerning the priesthood. For in each jubilee there shall be a priesthood.
2 And in the first jubilee, the first who
is anointed to the priesthood shall be great, and shall speak to God as to a father.
3 And his priesthood shall be perfect with
the Lord, and in the day of his gladness shall he arise for the salvation of the world.
4 In the second jubilee, he that is anointed
shall be conceived in the sorrow of beloved ones; and his priesthood shall be honoured and shall be glorified by all.
5 And the third priest shall he taken hold
of by sorrow.
6 And the fourth shall be in pain, because
unrighteousness shall gather itself against him exceedingly, and all Israel shall hate each one his neighbour.
7 The fifth shall be taken hold of by darkness.
Likewise also the sixth and the seventh.
8 And in the seventh shall, be such pollution
as I cannot express before men, for they shall know it who do these things.
9 Therefore shall they be taken captive
and become a prey, and their land and their substance shall be destroyed.
10 And in the fifth week they shall return
to their desolate country, and shall renew the house of the Lord.
11 And in the seventh week shall become
priests, who are idolaters, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, lascivious, abusers of children and beasts.
12 And after their punishment shall have
come from the Lord, the priesthood shall fail.
13 Then shall the Lord raise up a new priest.
14 And to him all the words of the Lord
shall be revealed; and he shall execute a righteous judgement upon the earth for a multitude of days.
15 And his star shall arise in heaven as
of a king.
16 Lighting up the light of knowledge as
the sun the day, and he shall be magnified in the world.
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17 He shall shine forth as the sun on the
earth, and shall remove all darkness from under heaven, and there shall be peace in all the earth.
18 The heavens shall exult in his days,
and the earth shall be glad, and the clouds shall rejoice;
19 And the knowledge of the Lord shall be
poured forth upon the earth, as the water of the seas;
20 And the angels of the glory of the presence
of the Lord shall be glad in him.
21 The heavens shall be opened, and from
the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification, with the Father's voice as from Abraham to Isaac.
22 And the glory of the Most High shall
be uttered over him, and the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him in the water.
23 For he shall give the majesty of the
Lord to His sons in truth for evermore;
24 And there shall none succeed him for
all generations for ever.
25 And in his priesthood the Gentiles shall
be multiplied in knowledge upon the earth, and enlightened through the grace of the Lord. In his priesthood shall sin come
to an end, and the lawless shall cease to do evil.
26 And he shall open the gates of paradise,
and shall remove the threatening sword against Adam, and he shall give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, and the
spirit of holiness shall be on them.
27 And Beliar shall be bound by him, and
he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits.
28 And the Lord shall rejoice in His children,
and be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever.
29 Then shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
exult, and I will be glad, and all the saints shall clothe themselves with joy.
30 And now, my children, ye have heard all;
choose, therefore, for yourselves either the light or the darkness, either the law of the Lord or the works of Beliar.
31 And his sons answered him., saying, Before
the Lord we will walk according to His law.
32 And their father said unto them, The
Lord is witness, and His angels are witnesses, and ye are witnesses, and I am witness, concerning the word of your mouth.
33 And his sons said unto him: We are witnesses.
34 And thus Levi ceased commanding his sons;
and he stretched out his feet on the bed, and was gathered to his fathers, after he had lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.
35 And they laid him in a coffin, and afterwards
they buried him in Hebron, with I Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
