The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs of the House of Israel is the collected words of the twelve sons of Jacob which they spoke to their children. Their testaments have been passed down throughout the generations of their posterity. In these testaments, the Patriarchs of Israel recount the events that shaped their lives and leave their posterity instruction, to love God and keep His Commandments. Their father Jacob had gathered his sons at the time of his death to bless and instruct them as well.

The Testament of Reuben

the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the testament of Reuben: the things which he commanded to his sons before he died in the one hundred twenty-fifth year of his life.”
1:2 “Two years after the death of Joseph, his brother Reuben became sick and there gathered to watch over him his sons and his son’s sons.”
1:3 “And he said to them, My children, behold I am dying, and I am going the way of my fathers.”
1:4 “When he saw Judah and Gad and Asher his brothers there he said to them, Raise me up so that I can tell my brothers and my children the things that I have hidden in my heart, for behold I am departing from you now.”
1:5 “And when he was raised up he kissed them and said to them, Listen, my brothers and my sons; give heed to the things which I, Reuben, your father, command you.”
1:6 “See here, I call the God of heaven to bear witness to you this day, so that you will not behave yourselves in the ignorant ways of youth and sexual promiscuity in which I indulged myself and defiled the marriage bed of my father, Jacob.”
1:7 “But I tell you he struck me with a severe wound in my loins for seven months, and if my father, Jacob, had not prayed to the Lord in my behalf, the Lord would have destroyed me.”
1:8 “For I was thirty years old when I committed this evil deed in the sight of the Lord, and for seven months I was an invalid on the brink of death.”
1:9 “And after this, with determination of soul, for seven years I repented before the Lord;”
1:10 “I did not drink wine or liquor; meat did not enter my mouth, and I did not eat any pleasurable food. Rather, I was mourning over my sin, since it was so great. Never had anything like it been done in Israel.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “And now give heed to me, my children, concerning the things which I saw during my time of penitence, concerning the seven spirits of deceit.”
2:2 “For seven spirits are established against mankind, and they are the sources of the deeds of youth.”
2:3 “And seven other spirits are given to man at creation so that by them every human deed is done.”
2:4 “First is the spirit of life, with which man is created as a composite being. The second is the spirit of seeing, with which comes desire.”
2:5 “The third is the spirit of hearing, with which comes instruction. The fourth is the spirit of smell, with which is given taste for the drawing air and breath.”
2:6 “The fifth is the spirit of speech, with which comes knowledge.”
2:7 “The sixth is the spirit of taste for consuming food and drink; by it comes strength, because in food is the substance of strength.”
2:8 “The seventh is the spirit of procreation and intercourse, with which come sins through fondness for pleasure.”
2:9 “For this reason, it was the last in the creation and the first in youth, because it is filled with ignorance; it leads the young like a blind man into a ditch and like an animal over a cliff.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “In addition to all is an eighth spirit: sleep, with which is created the ecstasy of nature and the image of death.”
3:2 “With these are commingled the spirits of error.”
3:3 “First, the spirit of promiscuity resides in the nature and the senses.”
3:4 “A second spirit of insatiability, in the stomach; a third spirit of strife, in the liver and the gall; a fourth spirit of flattery and trickery, in order that through excessive effort one might appear to be at the height of his powers;”
3:5 “A fifth spirit of arrogance, that one might be boastful and haughty; a sixth spirit of lying, which through destructiveness and rivalry, handles his affairs smoothly and secretively even with his relatives and his household.”
3:6 “A seventh spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and crooked dealings, in order that one might gain his heart’s desire. For injustice works together with the other spirits through acceptance of bribes.”
3:8 “And thus every young man is destroyed, darkening his mind from the truth, neither gaining understanding in the Law of God nor heeding the advice of his fathers – just this was my plight in my youth.”
3:9 “And now, my children, love truth and she will preserve you. Give heed to the words of Reuben, your father.”
3:10 “Do not devote your attention to a woman’s looks, nor live with a woman who is already married, nor become involved in affairs with women.”
3:11 “For if I had not seen Bilhah bathing in a sheltered place, I would not have fallen into this great lawless act.”
3:12 “For so absorbed were my senses by her naked femininity that I was not able to sleep until I had performed this revolting act.”
3:13 “While our father, Jacob, had gone off to visit his father, Isaac, and we were at Gader near Ephratha in Bethlehem, Bilhah became drunk and was sound asleep, naked in her bedchamber.”
3:14 “So when I came in and saw her nakedness, I performed the impious deed without her being aware of it. Leaving her sleeping soundly, I went out.”
3:15 “And immediately a messenger from God revealed it to my father. He came and made lamentation over me, and never again touched her.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “Do not devote your attention to the beauty of women, my children, nor occupy your minds with their activities. But live in integrity of heart in the fear/reverence of the Lord, and weary yourself in good deeds, in learning, and in tending your flocks, until the Lord gives you the mate whom he wills, so that you do not suffer, as I did.”
4:2 “For until my father’s death I never had the courage to look him in the face or speak to any of my brothers because of my disgraceful act.”
4:3 “Even until now my conscience harasses me because of my impious act.”
4:4 “And yet my father consoled me greatly and prayed to the Lord in my behalf so that the Lord’s anger would pass me by – which is just how the Lord treated me. From that time until now I have kept a careful watch and have not sinned.”
4:5 “So then, my children, observe all the things that I command you, and do not sin,”
4:6 “For the sin of promiscuity is the pitfall of life, separating man from God and leading on toward idolatry, because it is the deceiver of the mind and the perceptions, and leads youths down to hell before their time.”
4:7 “For promiscuity has destroyed many. Whether a man is old, well born, rich, or poor, he brings on himself disgrace among mankind and provides Beliar/Satan with an opportunity to cause him to stumble.”
4:8 “You heard how Joseph protected himself from a woman and purified his mind from all promiscuity;”
4:9 “He found favor before God and men. For the Egyptian woman did many things to him, summoned magicians, and brought potions for him, but his soul’s deliberation rejected evil desire.”
4:10 “For this reason the God of our fathers rescued him from every visible or hidden death.”
4:11 “For if promiscuity does not triumph over your reason, then neither can Beliar/Satan conquer you.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “For women are evil, my children, and by reason of their lacking authority or power over man, they scheme treacherously how they might entice him to themselves by means of their looks.”
5:2 “And whomever they cannot enchant by their appearance they conquer by a stratagem.”
5:3 “Indeed, the angel of the Lord told me and instructed me that women are more easily overcome by the spirit of promiscuity than are men. They contrive in their hearts against men, then by decking themselves out they lead men’s minds astray, by a look they implant their poison, and finally in the act itself they take them captive.”
5:4 “For a woman is not able to coerce a man overtly, but by a harlot’s manner she accomplishes her villainy.”
5:5 “Accordingly, my children, flee from sexual promiscuity, and order your wives and your daughters not to adorn their heads and their appearances so as to deceive men’s sound minds. For every woman who schemes in these ways is destined for eternal punishment.”
5:6 “For it was thus that they charmed the Watchers, who were before the Flood. As they continued looking at the women, they were filled with desire for them and perpetrated the act in their minds. Then they were transformed into human males, and while the women were cohabiting with their husbands they appeared to them. Since the women’s minds were filled with lust for these apparitions, they gave birth to giants. For the Watchers were disclosed to them as being as high as the heavens.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “So guard yourself against sexual promiscuity, and if you want to remain pure in your mind, protect your senses from women.”
6:2 “And tell them not to consort with men, so that they too might be pure in their minds.”
6:3 “For even recurrent chance meetings – although the impious act itself is not committed – are for these women an incurable disease, but for us they are the plague of Beliar/Satan and an eternal disgrace.”
6:4 “Because in sexual promiscuity there is a place for neither understanding nor piety, and every passion dwells in its desire.”
6:5 “For this reason, I say to you, you will vie with the sons of Levi and will seek to be exalted above them, but you will not be able.”
6:6 “For God will perform vengeance in their behalf, and you will die an evil death,”
6:7 “Since God gave Levi the authority, and to Judah with him, [as well as to me and to Dan and to Joseph] to be rulers.”
6:8 “It is for this reason that I command you to give heed to Levi, because he will know the law of God and will give instructions concerning justice and concerning sacrifice for Israel until the consummation of times; he is the anointed priest of whom the Lord spoke.”
6:9 “I call to witness the God of heaven that you do the truth, each to his neighbor, and that you show love, each to his brother.”
6:10 “Draw near to Levi in humility of your hearts in order that you may receive blessing from his mouth.”
6:11 “For he will bless Israel and Judah, since it is through him that the Lord has chosen to reign in the presence of all the people.”
6:12 “Prostrate yourselves before his posterity, because (his offspring) will die in your behalf in wars visible and invisible. And he shall be among you an eternal king.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “And Reuben died, having spoken these commandments to his sons.”
7:2 “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.”

 

The Testament of Simeon

 

The Testament of Levi

The Testament of Judah

The Testament of Issachar

the fifth son of Jacob and Leah

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the words of Issachar. He called his sons to him and said, Listen, children, to Issachar, your father; give ear to the words of one who is beloved of the Lord.”
1:2 “I was the fifth son to be born to Jacob as a payment for mandrakes,”
1:3 “For when Reuben, my brother, brought in mandrakes from the field, Rachel met him on the way and took them.”
1:4 “Reuben wept, and at the sound of his voice his mother, Leah, came out.”
1:5 “These were fragrant fruit produced in the land of Horan in the high country below a waterfall.”
1:6 “Rachel said, I will not give you these because they shall be mine in place of children.”
1:7 “There were two of the fruits. Leah said, Is it not enough that you took the husband of my virginity? Must you take these as well?”
1:8 “And Rachel said, In exchange for your son’s mandrakes let Jacob be yours tonight.”
1:9 “Leah replied to her, Do not boast, and do not hold too high opinion of yourself, for Jacob is mine and I am the wife of his youth.”
1:10 “Rachel said, What do you mean? I was prepared for marriage to him first and for my sake he served our father fourteen years.”
1:11 “What can I do with you? Treachery and human trickery are increasing, and treachery is spreading over the earth. If that were not so, you would not see Jacob’s face.”
1:12 “You are not his wife, but by craftiness you were taken to him in my place.”
1:13 “My father deceived me and replaced me that night, not allowing Jacob to see me. Because if I had been there this would not have happened.”
1:14 “Then Rachel said, In exchange for the mandrakes I will hire out a woman to Jacob for one night. And Jacob had intercourse with Leah; she conceived and bore me.”
1:15 “And on account of the “hire,” I was called Issachar.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Jacob and said, Rachel shall bear two children, because she despised intercourse with her husband, choosing rather continence.”
2:2 “If Leah, my mother, had not given up the two fruits in exchange for sexual intercourse, she would have born eight sons. But accordingly, she bore six and Rachel bore two, because through the use of mandrakes the Lord had regard for her.”
2:3 “For he perceived that she wanted to lie with Jacob for the sake of children and not merely for sexual gratification.”
2:4 “In addition, she gave up Jacob on the following day so that she might obtain the other mandrake. Thus it was through the mandrakes that the Lord listened to Rachel.”
2:5 “Even though she longed for them passionately, she did not eat them, but presented them in the house of the Lord, offering them up to the priest of the Most High who was there at that time.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “Accordingly, when I grew up, my children, I lived my life in rectitude of heart; I became a farmer for the benefit of my father and my brothers, and I brought the produce from the fields at their appropriate times.”
3:2 “And my father blessed me, since he saw that I was living in integrity.”
3:3 “I was no meddler in my dealings, nor was I evil or slanderous to my neighbor.”
3:4 “I spoke against no one, nor did I disparage the life of any human.”
3:5 “I lived my life with singleness of vision. Accordingly, when I was thirty-five I took myself a wife because hard work consumed my energy, and pleasure with a woman never came to my mind; rather sleep overtook me because of my labor.”
3:6 “And my father was continually rejoicing in my integrity. Whatever it was that I labored over at every harvest and whenever there was a firstborn, I first made an offering to the Lord through the priest, then for my father, and then for myself.”
3:7 “And the Lord doubles the good things in my hands. Jacob knew that God collaborated with my integrity.”
3:8 “In the integrity of my heart, I supplied everything from the good things of the earth to all the poor and the oppressed.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “Now, listen to me, children, and live in integrity of heart, for in it I have observed everything that is well-pleasing to the Lord.”
4:2 “The genuine man does not desire gold, he does not defraud his neighbor, he does not long for fancy foods, nor does he want fine clothes.”
4:3 “He does not make plans to live a long life, but awaits only the will of God.”
4:4 “And the spirits of error have no power over him, since he does not include feminine beauty in the scope of his vision, lest by allowing distraction he might corrupt his mind.”
4:5 “Envy will not penetrate his thinking; no malice dissipates his soul; no avarice intrudes upon his integrity.”
4:6 “For he lives by the integrity of his soul, and perceives all things by the rectitude of his heart, making no place for an outlook made evil by this world’s error, in order that he might envision no turning aside from any of the Lord’s commands.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “Keep the Law of God, my children; achieve integrity; live without malice, not tinkering with God’s commands or your neighbor’s affairs.”
5:2 “Love the Lord and your neighbor, be compassionate toward poverty and sickness.”
5:3 “Bend your back in farming, perform the tasks of the soil in every kind of agriculture, offering gifts gratefully to the Lord.”
5:4 “Thus the Lord will bless you with the first fruits, as he has blessed all the saints/elect from Abel until the present.”
5:5 “For to you is given no other portion than the fertility of the earth, from which comes produce through toil.”
5:6 “Our father, Jacob, blessed me by the blessing of the earth and of the first fruits.”
5:7 “And Levi and Judah were glorified by the Lord among the sons of Jacob. The Lord made choice among them: To one he gave the priesthood and to the other, the kingship.”
5:8 “Subject yourselves to them, and live in integrity as did your father, because to Gad has been assigned the rout of the attackers who are coming against Israel.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “Understand, my children, that in the last times your sons will abandon sincerity and align themselves with insatiable desire. Forsaking guilelessness, they will ally themselves with villainy. Abandoning the commands of the Lord, they ally themselves with Beliar/Satan.”
6:2 “Giving up agriculture, they pursue their own evil schemes, they will be scattered among the nations and enslaved by their enemies.”
6:3 “Tell these things to your children, therefore, so that even though they might sin, they may speedily return to the Lord,”
6:4 “Because he is merciful: He will set them free and take them back to their land.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “I am a hundred and twenty-two years old, and I am not aware of having committed a sin unto death.”
7:2 “I have not had intercourse with any woman other than my wife, nor was I promiscuous by lustful look.”
7:3 “I did not drink wine to the point of losing self-control. I was not passionately eager for any desirable possession of my neighbor.”
7:4 “There was no deceit in my heart; no lie passed through my lips.”
7:5 “I joined in lamentation with every oppressed human being, and shared my bread with the poor. I did not eat alone; I did not transgress boundaries;”
7:6 “I acted in piety and truth all my days. The Lord I loved with all my strength; likewise, I loved every human being as I love my children.”
7:7 “You do these as well, my children, and every spirit of Beliar/Satan will flee from you, and no act of human evil will have power over you. Every wild creature you shall subdue, so long as you have the God of heaven with you, and walk with all mankind in sincerity of heart.”
7:8 “And he instructed them that they should take him up to Hebron and bury him there in the cave with his fathers.”
7:9 “And he stretched his legs and died at a good old age – the fifth son, with all his members sound and still strong; he slept the eternal sleep.”

 

The Testament of Zebulon

the sixth son of Jacob and Lea

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the testament of Zebulon, which he decreed for his sons in the one hundred fourteenth year of his life, thirty-two years after the death of Joseph.”
1:2 “And he said to them, Listen to me, sons of Zebulon; heed the words of your father.”
1:3 “I am Zebulon, a good gift to my parents, for when I was born my father prospered exceedingly, in flocks and herds, when he got his share of them by means of spotted rods.”
1:4 “I am not aware, my children, that I have sinned in all my days, except in my mind.”
1:5 “Nor do I recall having committed a transgression, except what I did to Joseph in ignorance, because in a compact with my brothers I kept from telling my father what had been done, although I wept much in secret.”
1:6 “I was afraid of my brothers because they had all agreed that, if any one disclosed the secret, he should be killed by a sword.”
1:7 “Even when they wanted to kill him, I exhorted them with tears not to commit this lawless act.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “Simeon and Gad came upon Joseph to kill him. Falling on his face, Joseph began to say to them,”
2:2 “Have mercy on me, my brothers; pity the deep feelings of Jacob, our father. Do not put your hands on me to pour out innocent blood, because I have not sinned against you.”
2:3 “If I have sinned, discipline me as one trains a child, but do not lay your hand on me for the sake of our father, Jacob.”
2:4 “As he was saying these words, I was moved to pity and began to weep; my courage grew weak and all the substance of my inner being became faint within my soul”
2:5 “Joseph wept, and I with him; my heart pounded, the joints of my body shook and I could not stand.”
2:6 “And when he saw me crying with him, while the others were coming to kill him, he rushed behind me beseeching them.”
2:7 “Reuben stood up and said, My brothers, let us not kill him, but let us throw him into one of those dry cisterns which our fathers dug and in which there is to be found no water.”
2:8 “Accordingly, the Lord prohibited any water from rising up in them so that Joseph’s preservation might be accomplished.”
2:9 “And the Lord did this until the time when they sold him to the Ishmaelites.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “I had no share in the price received for Joseph, my children.”
3:2 “But Simeon, Gad, and our other brothers accepted the money, bought shoes for themselves, their wives, and their children.” (Amos 2:6)
3:3 “We will not use the money for eating, which is the price of our brother’s blood, but we will trample it underfoot in response to his having said he would rule over us. Let us see what comes of his dreams.” (Matt 27:6-10)
3:4 “Accordingly, it is written in the book of the Law of Moses that anyone who is unwilling to raise up posterity for his brother, his shoe should be removed and one should spit in his face.”
3:5 “Joseph’s brothers did not want their brother to live, and the Lord removed Joseph’s shoe from them.”
3:6 “For when they arrived in Egypt their shoes were removed by Joseph’s servants before the gate, and thus they did obeisance to Joseph in the manner of the Pharaoh.”
3:7 “Not only did they do obeisance, but they were spit upon, prostrating themselves forthwith before him. And thus they were humiliated before the Egyptians.”
3:8 “After that the Egyptians heard all the wicked things that we had done to Joseph.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “After they had thrown him into the pit, they sat down and began to eat;”
4:2 “As for me, I tasted nothing for two days and two nights, being moved with compassion for Joseph. And Judah joined me in abstaining from food; he stayed near the cistern, because he was afraid that Simeon and Gad might go out and kill Joseph.”
4:3 “When they observed that I was not eating, they assigned me to guard him until he might be sold.”
4:4 “He remained in the cistern three days and three nights, so that when he was sold he was starving.”
4:5 “When Reuben heard that Joseph had been sold while he was away, he tore his clothing in mourning, saying, How can I look my father in the face?”
4:6 “He took money and ran after the merchants, but found no one, since they had left the highway and had traveled by a shortcut through the region of the Troglodytes.”
4:7 “And Reuben ate no food that day. Then Dan came to him and said,”
4:8 “Do not weep; do not mourn, for I have found what we should say to our father, Jacob.”
4:9 “Let us kill a goat’s kid and dip Joseph’s coat in its blood. Then we shall say, Do you recognize whether this is your son’s garment?”
4:10 “(For they had taken off from Joseph his father’s coat when they were about to sell him and put on him an old garment of a slave.).”
4:11 “Simeon had the garment and was unwilling to give it to him, preferring to cut it up with his sword, since he was burning with anger that he had not killed him.”
4:12 “But we all rose in opposition to him and said, If you don’t give it up we shall say you alone did this evil deed in Israel.”
4:13 “So he gave it up and they did as Dan had stated.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “Now, my children, I tell you to keep the Lord’s commands; show mercy to your neighbor, have compassion on all, not only human beings but to dumb animals.”
5:2 “For these reasons the Lord blessed me, and when all my brothers were ill, I alone passed without sickness, for the Lord knows the purpose of each man.”
5:3 “Have mercy in your inner being, my children, because whatever anyone does to his neighbor, the Lord will do to him.”
5:4 “For the sons of my brothers were sickly and died on account of Joseph, because they did not act in mercy out of their inner compassion.”
5:5 “But you, my sons, were preserved free from illness, as you know. When I was in Canaan catching fish by the sea for our father, Jacob, many were drowned in the sea, but I survived unharmed.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “I was the first to make a boat to sail on the sea, because the Lord gave me understanding and wisdom concerning it.”
6:2 “I positioned a rudder behind it, put up a sail on a straight piece of wood in the middle.”
6:3 “In it I sailed along the shores, catching fish for my father’s household until we went to Egypt.”
6:4 “Being compassionate, I gave some of my catch to every stranger.”
6:5 “If anyone were a traveler, or sick, or aged, I cooked the fish, prepared it well, and offered to each person according to his need, being either convivial or consoling.”
6:6 “Therefore the Lord made my catch to be an abundance of fish; for whoever shares with his neighbor receives multifold from the Lord.”
6:7 “I fished for five years, sharing with every person whom I saw, and sufficing for my father’s household.”
6:8 “Summers, I fished; winters, I tended the flock of my brothers.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “Now I will tell you what I did. I saw a man suffering from nakedness in the wintertime and I had compassion on him: I stole a garment secretly from my own household and gave it to the man in difficulty.”
7:2 “You, therefore, my children, on the basis of God’s caring for you, without discrimination be compassionate and merciful to all. Provide for every person with a kind heart.”
7:3 “If at any time you do not have anything to give to the one who is in need, be compassionate and merciful in your inner self.”
7:4 “For when my hand could not find the means for contributing to a needy person, I walked with him for seven stades, weeping; my inner being was in torment with sympathy for him.”

Chapter 8

8:1 “You also, my children, have compassion toward every person with mercy, in order that the Lord may be compassionate and merciful to you.”
8:2 “In the last days God will send his compassion on the earth, and whenever he finds compassionate mercy, in that person he will dwell.”
8:3 “To the extent that a man has compassion on his neighbor, to that extent the Lord has mercy on him.”
8:4 “For when we went down into Egypt, Joseph did not hold a grudge against us. When he saw me, he was moved with compassion.”
8:5 “Whomever you see, do not harbor resentment, my children; love one another, and do not calculate the wrong done by each to his brothers.”
8:6 “This shatters unity, and scatters all kinship, and stirs up the soul. He who recalls evil receives neither compassion nor mercy.”

Chapter 9

9:1 “Pay heed to the streams; when they flow in the same channel they carry along stones, wood, and sand,”
9:2 “But if they are divided into many channels, the earth swallows them and they become unproductive.”
9:3 “And you shall be thus if you are divided.”
9:4 “Do not be divided into two heads, because everything the Lord has made has a single head. He provides two shoulders, two hands, two feet, but all members obey one head.”
9:5 “In the writing of the fathers I came to know that in the last days you shall defect from the Lord, and you shall be divided in Israel, and you shall follow after two kings; you shall commit every abomination and worship every idol.”
9:6 “Your enemies will take you captive and you shall reside among the gentiles/nations with all sorts of sickness and tribulation and oppression of soul.”
9:7 “And thereafter you will remember the Lord and repent, and he will turn you around because he is merciful and compassionate; he does not bring a charge at wickedness against the sons of men, since they are flesh and the spirits of deceit lead them astray in all their actions.” (Eph 6:12)
9:8 “And thereafter the Lord himself will arise upon you, the light of righteousness with healing and compassion in his wings. He will liberate every captive of the sons of men from Beliar/Satan, and every spirit of error will be trampled down. He will turn all nations to being zealous for him. And you shall see [God in a human form], he whom the Lord will choose: Jerusalem is his name.”
9:9 “You will provoke him to wrath by the wickedness of your works, and you will be rejected until the time of the end.”

Chapter 10

10:1 “And now, my children, do not grieve because I am dying, nor be depressed because I am leaving you.”
10:2 “I shall rise again in your midst as a leader among your sons, and I shall be glad in the midst of my tribe – as many as keep the Law of the Lord and the commandments of Zebulon, their father.”
10:3 “But the Lord shall bring down fire on the impious and will destroy them to all generations,”
10:4 “I am now hurrying to my rest, like my fathers.”
10:5 “But you fear/reverence the Lord your God with all your strength all the days of your life.”
10:6 “When he had said this, he fell into a beautiful sleep, and his sons placed him in a coffin. Later they carried him up to Hebron and buried him with his fathers.”

 

 

The Testament of Dan

the seventh son of Jacob and Bilhah 

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the words of Dan, which he spoke to his sons at the last of his days, in the one hundred twenty-fifth year of his life.”
1:2 “Assembling his clan, he said, Sons of Dan, hear my words; give heed to what is uttered by the mouth of your father.”
1:3 “I have made proof in my heart and in my life that truth with honest dealings is good and well-pleasing to God, while falsehood and anger are evil because they instruct mankind thoroughly in every evil.”
1:4 “My children, I confess to you today that in my heart I rejoiced over the death of Joseph, a man who was true and good.”
1:5 “I was glad about the sale of Joseph, because Father loved him more than the rest of us.”
1:6 “For the spirit of jealousy and pretentiousness kept saying to me, You too are his son.”
1:7 “And one of the spirits of Beliar/Satan was at work within me, saying, Take this sword, and with it kill Joseph; once he is dead, your father will love you.”
1:8 “This is the spirit of anger that persuaded me that as a leopard sucks the blood of a kid, so I should suck the blood of Joseph.”
1:9 “But the God of Jacob, our father, did not allow him to fall into my hands so that I might find him alone, nor did he permit me to accomplish this lawless act, lest two tribes be lost from Israel.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “And now, my children, I am dying, and I say to you in truth that if you do not guard yourselves against the spirit of falsehood and anger, and love truth and forbearance, you will perish.”
2:2 “There is blindness in anger, my children, and there is no angry person who can perceive the face of truth.”
2:3 “For even if one is his father or mother, he treats them as enemies; if it is a brother, he does not recognize him; if it is a prophet of the Lord, he misunderstands; if it is a just men, he is unaware of him; if a friend, he ignores him.”
2:4 “For the spirit of anger ensnares him in the nets of deceit, blinds his eyes literally, darkens his understanding by means of a lie, and provides him with its own peculiar perspective.”
2:5 “By what means does it ensnare the vision? By hatred in the heart, it gives him a peculiar disposition to envy his brother.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “Anger is evil, my children, for it becomes the motivation force of the soul itself.”
3:2 “That force has strange effects on the body of the angry man; it dominates his soul, and provides the body with a peculiar power so that it can accomplish every lawless act.”
3:3 “When the soul acts, it justifies whatever is done since it lacks discernment.”
3:4 “So then whoever is angry, if he is a powerful person, has triple strength by reason of his anger: First through the power and support of his subordinates; second through his wealth, by which he can win by persuasive acts and triumph in injustice; third, he has the natural force of his own body, and through it he accomplishes evil.”
3:5 “But if the angry one is a weak person, his strength is twice that of nature, for anger always supports such a person in their transgression.”
3:6 “This spirit always moves with falsehood at the right hand of Satan, in order that such deeds may be done through savagery and deception.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “Understand, then, the power of anger, that it is senseless.”
4:2 “First, it arouses by spoken word; then by actions it gives strength to the one who is aroused, by sharp losses it perturbs his mind, and thus arouses his soul with great anger.”
4:3 “When anyone speaks against you, do not be moved to anger; and if anyone praises you as being kind, do not be elated, nor be carried away, neither by pleasure nor by shame.”
4:4 “First it is pleasant to hear and thus it sharpens the mind to be sensitive to some provocation; and then when anyone is aroused by anger, it makes him suppose his self-esteem is justified.”
4:5 “If you suffer a loss, if you undergo the destruction of anything, do not become alarmed, my children, because this spirit makes one desire what is transitory in order that he might be made angry over what he is missing.”
4:6 “If you lose something, by your own action or otherwise, do not be sorrowful, for grief arouses anger as well as deceit.”
4:7 “Anger and falsehood together are a double-edged evil, and work together to perturb the reason. And when the soul is continually perturbed, the Lord withdraws from it and Beliar/Satan rules it.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “Observe the Lord’s commandments, then, my children, and keep his Law. Avoid wrath, and hate lying, in order that the Lord may dwell among you, and Beliar/Satan may flee from you.”
5:2 “Each of you speak truth clearly to his neighbor, and do not fall into pleasure and troublemaking, but be at peace, holding to the God of peace. Thus no conflict will overwhelm you.”
5:3 “Throughout all your life love the Lord, and one another with a true heart.”
5:4 “For I know that in the last days you will defect from the Lord, you will be offended at Levi, and revolt against Judah; but you will not prevail over them. An angel of the Lord guides them both, because by them Israel shall stand.”
5:5 “To the extent that you abandon the Lord, you will live by every evil deed, committing the revolting acts of the gentiles/nations, chasing after wives of lawless men, and you are motivated to all wickedness by the spirits of deceit among you.”
5:6 “For I read in the Book of Enoch the Righteous that your prince is Satan and that all the spirits of sexual promiscuity and of arrogance devote attention to the sons of Levi in the attempt to observe them closely and cause them to commit sin before the Lord.”
5:7 “My sons will draw close to Levi, will participate with them in all manner of sins; and with the sons of Judah they will share in greed, like lions snatching what belongs to others.”
5:8 “Accordingly you will be led off with them into captivity; there you will receive all the plagues of Egypt, and all the evils of the gentiles/nations.”
5:9 “Therefore when you turn back to the Lord, you will receive mercy, and he will lead you into his holy place, proclaiming peace to you.”
5:10 “And there shall arise for you from the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Levi the Lord’s salvation. He will make war against Beliar/Satan; he will grant the vengeance of victory as our goal.”
5:11 “And he shall take from Beliar/Satan the captives, the souls of the saints/elect; and he shall turn the hearts of the disobedient ones to the Lord, and grant eternal peace to those who call upon him.”
5:12 “And the saints/elect shall refresh themselves in Eden; the righteous shall rejoice in the New Jerusalem, which shall be eternally for the glorification of God.”
5:13 “And Jerusalem shall no longer undergo desolation, nor shall Israel be led into captivity, because the Lord will be in her midst [living among human beings]. The Holy One of Israel will rule over them in humility and poverty, and he who trusts in him shall reign in truth in the heavens.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “And now fear/reverence the Lord, my children, be on guard against Satan and his spirits.”
6:2 “Draw near to God and to the angel who intercedes for you, because he is the mediator between God and men for the peace of Israel. He shall stand in opposition to the kingdom of the enemy.”
6:3 “Therefore the enemy is eager to trip up all who call on the Lord,”
6:4 “Because he knows that on the day in which Israel trusts, the enemy’s kingdom will be brought to an end.”
6:5 “This angel of peace will strengthen Israel so that it will not succumb to an evil destiny.”
6:6 “But in Israel’s period of lawlessness it will be the Lord who will not depart from her and therefore she will seek to do his will, for none of the angels is like him.”
6:7 “His name shall be everywhere throughout Israel; [and the Savior will be known among the nations].”
6:8 “Keep love, truth, and patience.”
6:9 “What you have heard from your father pass on to your children, so that the father of nations may accept you. For he is true and patient, lowly and humble, exemplifying by his actions the Law of God.”
6:10 “Forsake all unrighteousness and cling to the righteousness of the Law of God.”
6:11 “And bury me near my fathers.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “When he had said this, he kissed them and slept an eternal sleep.”
7:2 “And his sons buried him and later they carried his bones to be near Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
7:3 “Dan prophesied to them, however, that they would go astray from God’s law, that they would be estranged from their inheritance, from the race of Israel, and from the patrimony; and that is what occurred.”

The Testament of Naphtali

the eighth son of Jacob and Bilhah

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the testament of Naphtali, which he decreed at the time of his death in the one hundred thirty-second year of his life.”
1:2 “When his sons were gathered together in the seventh month, on the fourth day of the month, and he was in good health, he gave a feast and drinking party.”
1:3 “After he awoke early the next morning, he told them, I am dying, but they did not believe him.”
1:4 “And while he was blessing the Lord he confirmed that after the previous day’s feast he would die.”
1:5 “Then he began to say to his sons, Listen, my children, sons of Naphtali, hear your father’s words.”
1:6 “I was born from Bilhah; Rachel acted by trickery, giving Bilhah to Jacob in place of herself, and she bore me on the knees of Rachel, for which reason she called me Naphtali.”
1:7 “Rachel loved me because I was born in her lap; while I was tender in appearance she would kiss me and say, May I see a brother of yours, like you, from my own womb.”
1:8 “Thus Joseph was like me in every way, in keeping with Rachel’s prayer.”
1:9 “But my mother was Bilhah, daughter of Rotheos, Deborah’s brother, nurse of Rebecca; she was born the very day on which Rachel was born.”
1:10 “Rotheos was of Abraham’s tribe, a Chaldean, one who honored God, free and well-born,”
1:11 “But he was taken captive and bought by Laban, who gave him Aina, his servant girl, as a wife. She bore a daughter and called her Zelpha from the name of the village in which he had been taken captive.”
1:12 “After that she bore Bilhah, saying, My daughter is ever eager for new things; No sooner had she been born than she hurried to start sucking.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “Since I was light on my feet like a deer, my father, Jacob, appointed me for all missions and messages, and as a deer he blessed me.”
2:2 “For just as a potter knows the pot, how much it holds, and brings clay for it accordingly, so also the Lord forms the body in correspondence to the spirit, and instills the spirit corresponding to the power of the body.”
2:3 “And from one to the other there is no discrepancy, not so much as a third of a hair, for all the creation of the Most High was according to height, measure, and standard.”
2:4 “And just as the potter knows the use of each vessel and to what it is suited, so also the Lord knows the body to what extent it will persist in goodness, and when it will be dominated by evil.”
2:5 “For there is no form or conception which the Lord does not know since he created every human being according to his own image.”
2:6 “As a person’s strength, so also is his work; as is his mind, so also is his skill. As is his plan, so also is his achievement; as is his heart, so is his speech; as is his eye, so also is his sleep; as is his soul, so also is his thought, whether on the Law of the Lord or on the law of Beliar/Satan.”
2:7 “As there is a distinction between light and darkness, between seeing and hearing, thus there is a distinction between man and man and between woman and woman. One cannot say they are one in appearance or rank,”
2:8 “For God made all things good in their order; the five senses in the head; to the head he attached the neck, in addition to the hair for the enhancement of appearance; then the heart for prudence; the belly for excretion from the stomach; the windpipe for health; the liver for anger; the gallbladder for bitterness; the spleen for laughter; the kidneys for craftiness; the loins for power; the lungs for the chest; the hips for strength and so on.”
2:9 “Thus my children, you exist in accord with order for a good purpose in fear/reverence of God; do nothing in a disorderly manner, arrogantly, or at an inappropriate time.”
2:10 “If you tell the eye to hear, it cannot; so you are unable to perform the works of light while you are in darkness.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “Do not strive to corrupt your actions through avarice or to beguile your souls by empty phrases, because those who are silent in purity of heart will be able to hold fast God’s will and to shunt aside the will of Beliar/Satan.”
3:2 “Sun, moon, and stars do not alter their order; thus you should not alter the Law of God by the disorder of your actions.”
3:3 “The gentiles/nations, because they wandered astray and forsook the Lord, have changed the order, and have devoted themselves to stones and sticks, patterning themselves after wandering spirits.”
3:4 “But you, my children, shall not be like that: In the firmament, in the earth, and in the sea, in all the products of his workmanship discern the Lord who made all things, so that you do not become like Sodom, which departed from the order of nature.”
3:5 “Likewise the Watchers departed from nature’s order; the Lord pronounced a curse on them at the Flood. On their account he ordered that the earth be without dweller or produce.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “I say these things, my children, because I have read in the writing of holy Enoch that you also will stray from the Lord, living in accord with every wickedness of the gentiles/nations and committing every lawlessness of Sodom.”
4:2 “The Lord will impose captivity upon you; you shall serve your enemies there and you will be engulfed in hardship and difficulty until the Lord will wear you all out.”
4:3 “And after you have been decimated and reduced in number, you will return and acknowledge the Lord your God.”
4:4 “And it shall happen that when they come into the land of their fathers, they will again neglect the Lord and act impiously,”
4:5 “And the Lord will disperse them over the face of the whole earth until the mercy of the Lord comes, a man who effects righteousness, and he will work mercy on all who are far and near.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “In the fortieth year of my life, I saw on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem that the sun and the moon stood still.”
5:2 “And behold, Isaac, my father’s father, was saying to us, Run forth, seize them, each according to his capacity; to the one who grasps them will the sun and the moon belong.”
5:3 “All of them ran, but Levi seized the sun and Judah, outstripping the others, grasped the moon. Thus they were exalted above others.”
5:4 “Levi became like the sun, a certain young man gave him twelve date palms.”
5:5 “And Judah became luminous like the moon, and twelve rays were under his feet. Then running toward the others, Levi and Judah seized them.”
5:6 “And behold, there was a bull on the earth with two great horns and an eagle’s wing on his back. They tried to lay hold of him, but were unable.”
5:7 “But Joseph overtook them and seized him and went up with him into the heights.”
5:8 “And I looked, since I was there, and behold a sacred writing appeared to us, which said, Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Elamites, Gelachians, Chaldeans, Syrians shall obtain a share in the twelve staffs of Israel through captivity.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “And again after the seven months I saw our father, Jacob, standing by the sea at Jamnia and we, his sons, were with him.”
6:2 “And behold a ship came sailing past full of dried fish, without sailor or pilot.”
6:3 “Inscribed on it was ‘The Ship of Jacob.’ So our father said to us, Get into the boat.”
6:4 “As we boarded it, a violent tempest arose, a great windstorm, and our father, who had been holding us on course, was snatched away from us.”
6:5 “After being tossed by the storm, the boat was filled with water and carried along on the waves until it broke apart.”
6:6 “Joseph escaped in a light boat while we were scattered about on ten planks; Levi and Judah were on the same one.”
6:7 “Thus we were dispersed, even to the outer limits.”
6:8 “Levi, putting on sack cloth, prayed to the Lord in behalf of all of us.”
6:9 “When the storm ceased, the ship reached the land, as though at peace.”
6:10 “Then Jacob, our father, approached, and we all rejoiced with one accord.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “These two dreams I recounted to my father, and he replied, These things must be fulfilled at their appropriate time, once Israel has endured many things.”
7:2 “Then my father said, I believe that Joseph is alive, for I continually see that the Lord includes him in the number with you.”
7:3 “And he kept saying tearfully, You live, Joseph, my son, and I do not see you, nor do you behold Jacob who begot you.”
7:4 “He made me shed tears by these words of his. I was burning inwardly with compassion to tell him that Joseph had been sold, but I was afraid of my brothers.”

Chapter 8

8:1 “Behold, my children, I have shown you the last times, all things that will happen in Israel.”
8:2 “Command your children that they be in unity with Levi and Judah, for through Judah will salvation arise for Israel, and in him will Jacob be blessed.”
8:3 “Through his kingly power God will appear [dwelling among men on the earth], to save the race of Israel, and to assemble the righteous from among the nations.”
8:4 “If you achieve the good, my children, men and angels will bless you; and God will be glorified through you among the gentiles/nations. The devil will flee from you; wild animals will be afraid of you, and the angels will stand by you.”
8:5 “Just as anyone who rears a child well is held in good esteem, so also there will be a virtuous recollection on the part of God for your good work.”
8:8 “The one who does not do the good, men and angels will curse, and God will be dishonored among the gentiles/nations because of him, the devil will inhabit him as his own instrument. Every wild animal will dominate him, and the Lord will hate him.”
8:9 “And there are the two commandments: Unless they are performed in proper sequence they leave one open to the greatest sin. It is the same with the other commandments.”
8:10 “So be wise in the Lord and discerning, knowing the order of his commandments, what is ordained for every act, so that the Lord will love you.”

Chapter 9

9:1 “He gave them many similar instructions, urging them to transfer his bones to Hebron and bury him with his fathers.”
9:2 “He ate and drank in soulful glee, covered his face, and died. And his sons acted in accord with the things commanded by their father, Naphtali.”

The Testament of Gad

the ninth son of Jacob and Zilpah

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the testament of Gad, concerning what he said to his sons in the one hundred twenty-seventh year of his life, saying,”
1:2 “I was Jacob’s ninth son; among the shepherds I was brave.”
1:3 “I guarded the flock at night, and when the lion came, the wolf, the leopard, the bear or any other wild animal attacked the flock, I pursued it, seized it by the foot with my hand, crushed and blinded it, and hurled it a distance of twelve hundred feet.”
1:4 “Now Joseph was tending the flocks with me for about thirty days, and since he was delicate, he became faint from the heat, and went back to Hebron to his father.”
1:5 “He made Joseph lie down close to him because he loved him.”
1:6 “And Joseph said to his father, the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah are killing the best animals and eating them against the advice of Judah and Reuben.”
1:7 “He saw that I had set free a lamb from the mouth of a bear, which I then killed, but that I had killed the lamb when I was saddened to see that it was too weak to live; and we had eaten it.”
1:8 “This he told our father. On this matter I bore a grudge against Joseph until the day he was sold into Egypt;”
1:9 “The spirit of hatred was in me because we had eaten the newborn of the flocks without Judah. And whatever Joseph told our father, he believed him.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “I now confess my sin, children, that frequently I wanted to kill him; to the depth of my soul I hated him and any inner feeling of mercy toward him was completely absent.”
2:2 “Because of his dreams my hatred toward him increased and I wanted to gobble him from among the living as an ox gobbles up grass from the ground.”
2:3 “For this reason Judah and I sold him to the Ishmaelites for thirty pieces of gold; we hid ten pieces and showed only the twenty to our brothers.”
2:4 “Thus it was through greed that our plot to kill him was carried out.”
2:5 “But the God of my fathers rescued him from my hands so that I might not perform a lawless deed in Israel.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “And now children, listen to the words of truth: to perform justice and every law of the Most High; not to be led astray by the spirit of hatred because it is evil beyond all human deeds.”
3:2 “Whatever anyone does, he who hates is revolted; if he fears the Lord and hopes for good things, the hater has no love for him.”
3:3 “The hater disparages truth, envies the successful person, relishes slander, loves arrogance, because hatred blinds his soul. It was in this way that I regarded Joseph.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “Beware, my children, of those who hate, because it leads to lawlessness against the Lord himself.”
4:2 “Hatred does not want to hear repeated his commands concerning love of neighbor, and thus it sins against God.”
4:3 “For if a brother makes a false step, immediately it wants to spread the tale to everyone, and is eager to have him condemned for it, punished, and executed.”
4:4 “If the hater is a slave, he conspires against his master, and whenever difficulty arises it plots how he might be killed.”
4:5 “Hatred collaborates with envy, when it sees or hears about the prosperity of those who do well, it is perpetually peevish.”
4:6 “Just as love wants to bring the dead back to life and to recall those under sentence of death, so hate wants to kill the living and does not wish to preserve alive those who have committed the slightest sin.”
4:7 “For among all men the spirit of hatred works by Satan through human frailty for the death of mankind; but the spirit of love works by the Law of God through forbearance for the salvation of mankind.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “Hatred is evil, since it continually consorts with lying, speaking against the truth; it makes small things big, turns light into darkness, says that the sweet is bitter, teaches slander, conflict, violence, and all manner of greed; it fills the heart with diabolical venom.”
5:2 “I tell you this, my children, from experience, so that you might escape hatred and cling to love of the Lord.”
5:3 “Righteousness expels hatred; humility kills envy. For the person who is just and humble is ashamed to commit an injustice, not because someone else will pass judgment on him but out of his own heart, because the Lord considers his inner deliberations.”
5:4 “He will not denounce a fellow man, since fear/reverence of the Most High overcomes hatred.”
5:5 “Being concerned not to arouse the Lord’s anger, he is completely unwilling to wrong anyone, even in his thoughts.”
5:6 “I understood this at the last, after I had repented concerning Joseph,”
5:7 “For according to God’s truth, repentance destroys disobedience, puts darkness to flight, illumines the vision, furnishes knowledge for the soul, and guides the deliberative powers to salvation.”
5:8 “What it has not learned from human agency, it understands through repentance.”
5:9 “For God brought on me a disease of the liver, and if it had not been for the prayers of Jacob, my father, he would shortly have summoned from me my spirit.”
5:10 “For by whatever human capacity anyone transgresses, by that he is also chastised.”
5:11 “Since my anger was merciless in opposition to Joseph, through this anger of mine I suffered mercilessly, and was brought under judgment for eleven months, as long as I had had it in for Joseph, until he was sold.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “Now, my children, each of you love his brother. Drive hatred out of your hearts. Love one another in deed and word and inward thoughts.”
6:2 “For when I stood before my father I would speak peaceable about Joseph, but when I went out, the spirit of hatred darkened my mind and aroused my soul to kill him.”
6:3 “Love one another from the heart, therefore, and if anyone sins against you, speak to him in peace. Expel the venom of hatred, and do not harbor deceit in your heart. If anyone confesses and repents, forgive him.”
6:4 “If anyone denies his guilt, do not be contentious with him, otherwise he may start cursing, and you would be sinning doubly.”
6:5 “In a dispute do not let an outsider hear your secrets, since out of hatred for you he may become your enemy, and commit a great sin against you. He may talk to you frequently but treacherously, or be much concerned with you, but for an evil end, having absorbed from you the venom.”
6:6 “Even if he denies it and acts disgracefully out of a sense of guilt, be quiet and do not become upset. For he who denies will repent, and avoid offending you again; indeed he will honor you, will respect you and be at peace.”
6:7 “But even if he is devoid of shame and persists in his wickedness, forgive him from the heart and leave vengeance to God.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “If anyone prospers more than you, do not be aggrieved, but pray for him that he may prosper completely, for this is what is precisely to your advantage.”
7:2 “And if he becomes even more exalted, do not be envious, but remember that all humanity dies. Offer praise to the Lord who provides good and beneficial things for all mankind.”
7:3 “Search out the Lord’s judgments, and thus you shall gain an inheritance and your mind will be at rest.”
7:4 “Even if someone becomes rich by evil schemes, as did Esau, your father’s brother, do not be jealous; wait for the Lord to set the limits.”
7:5 “For if he takes away the things obtained by evil means, those who repent receive forgiveness, and the impenitent one receives eternal punishment.”
7:6 “The man who is poor but free from envy, who is grateful to the Lord for everything, is richer than all, because he does not love the foolish things that are a temptation common to mankind.”
7:7 “Drive hatred away from your souls, and love one another in uprightness of heart.”

Chapter 8

8:1 “Tell these things to your children as well, so that they will honor Judah and Levi, because from them the Lord will raise up a Savior for Israel.”
8:2 “I know that at the end your children will depart from them and will live in all manner of wickedness and evildoing and corruption in the sight of the Lord.”
8:3 “Then after he had been silent for a brief time he said again to them, My children, obey your father. Bury me near my fathers.”
8:4 “He drew up his feet and fell asleep in peace. And after five years they took him up and buried him in Hebron with his fathers.”

The Testament of Asher

the tenth son of Jacob and Zilpah

Chapter 1

1:1 “A copy of the testament of Asher, the things he spoke to his sons in the one hundred twenty-fifth year of his life.”
1:2 “While he was still healthy he said to them, Listen, children of Asher, to your father, and I will show you everything that is right in the sight of God.”
1:3 “God has granted two ways to the sons of men, two mind-sets, two lines of action, two models, and two goals.”
1:4 “Accordingly, everything is in pairs, the one over against the other.”
1:5 “The two ways are good and evil; concerning them are two dispositions within our breasts that choose between them.”
1:6 “If the soul wants to follow the good way, all of its deeds are done in righteousness and every sin is immediately repented.”
1:7 “Contemplating just deeds and rejecting wickedness, the soul overcomes evil and uproots sin.”
1:8 “But if the mind is disposed toward evil, all of its deeds are wicked; driving out the good, it accepts the evil and is overmastered by Beliar/Satan, who,”
1:9 “Even when good is undertaken, presses the struggle so as to make the aim of his action into evil, since the devil’s storehouse is filled with the vermin of the evil spirit.”

Chapter 2

2:1 “The soul, they say, may in words express good for the sake of evil, but the outcome of the action leads to evil.”
2:2 “There is a man who has no mercy on the one who serves him in performing an evil deed; there are two aspects of this, but the whole is wicked.”
2:3 “And there is a man who loves the one who does the evil, as he is himself involved in evil, so that he would choose to die in evil for the evildoer’s sake. There are also two aspects of this, but the whole situation is evil.”
2:4 “Although indeed love is there, yet in wickedness is evil concealed; in name it is as though it were good, but the outcome of the act is to bring evil.”
2:5 “Someone steals, deals unjustly, robs, cheats, but yet has pity on the poor. This also has two aspects, but is evil as a whole.”
2:6 “He who cheats his neighbor provokes God’s wrath; he who serves falsely before the Most High, and yet has mercy on the poor, disregards the Lord who uttered the Law’s commands; he provokes him, and yet he alleviates the plight of the poor day laborer.”
2:7 “He defiles the soul and takes pride in his own body; he kills many, yet has pity on a few. This also has two aspects, but is evil as a whole.”
2:8 “Someone else commits adultery and is sexually promiscuous, yet is abstemious/moderate in his eating. While fasting, he is committing evil deeds. Through the power of his wealth he ravages many, and yet in spite of his excessive evil, he performs the commandments.”
2:9 “This also has two aspects, but is evil as a whole. Such persons are hares, because although they are halfway clean, in truth they are unclean,”
2:10 “For this is what God has said on the tables of the commandments.”

Chapter 3

3:1 “But you, my children, do not be two-faced like them, one good and the other evil; rather, cling only to goodness, because in it the Lord God is at rest, and men aspire to it.”
3:2 “Flee from the evil tendency, destroying the devil by your good works. For those who are two-faced are not of God, but they are enslaved to their evil spirits, so that they might be pleasing to Beliar/Satan and to persons like themselves.”

Chapter 4

4:1 “For persons who are good, who are single-minded – even though they are considered by the two-faced to be sinners – are righteous before God.”
4:2 “For many who destroy the wicked perform two works – good and evil – but it is good as a whole, because evil is uprooted and destroyed.”
4:3 “One person hates the man who, though merciful, is also unjust, or who is an adulterer, even though he fasts, and thus is two-faced. But his work is good as a whole, because he imitates the Lord, not accepting the seeming good as though it were the truly good.”
4:4 “Another person does not want to see any pleasant days among the convivial, lest they disgrace the body and pollute the soul. This also has two aspects, but is good on the whole.”
4:5 “For such persons are like gazelles and stags: In appearance they seem wild and unclean, but as a whole they are clean. They live by zeal for the Lord, abstaining from what God hates and has forbidden through his commandments, staving off evil by the good.”

Chapter 5

5:1 “Children, you see how in everything there are two factors, one against the other, one concealed by the other: In possessions is greed, in merriment is drunkenness, in laughter is lamentation, in marriage is dissoluteness.”
5:2 “Death is successor to life, dishonor to glory, night to day, darkness to light, but all these things lead ultimately to day: righteous actions to life, unjust actions to death, since eternal life wards off death.”
5:3 “One cannot say truth is a lie, nor a righteous act is unjust, because all truth is subject ultimately to the light, just as all things are subject ultimately to God.”
5:4 “I have demonstrated all these things in my life, and have not strayed from the Lord’s truth. I have searched out the commandments of the Most High and lived them according to all my strength.”

Chapter 6

6:1 “You also, my children, give attention to the Lord’s command, pursuing the truth with singleness of mind.”
6:2 “The two-faced are doubly punished because they both practice evil and approve of others who practice it; they imitate the spirits of error and join in the struggle against mankind.”
6:3 “You therefore, my children, keep the Law of the Lord; do not pay attention to evil as to good, but have regard for what is really good and keep it thoroughly in all the Lord’s commandments, taking it as your way of life and finding rest in it.”
6:4 “For the ultimate end of human beings displays their righteousness, since they are made known to the angels of the Lord and of Beliar/Satan.”
6:5 “For when the evil soul departs, it is harassed by the evil spirit which it served through its desires and evil works. But if anyone is peaceful with joy he comes to know the angel of peace and enters eternal life.”

Chapter 7

7:1 “Do not become like Sodom, which did not recognize the Lord’s angels and perished forever.”
7:2 “For I know that you will sin and be delivered into the hands of your enemies; your land shall be made desolate and your sanctuary wholly polluted.”
7:3 “You will be scattered to the four corners of the earth; in the dispersion you shall be regarded as worthless, like useless water, until such time as the Most High visits the earth. [He shall come as a man eating and drinking with human beings,] crushing the dragon’s head in the water. He will save Israel and all the nations, [God speaking like a man.]”
7:4 “Tell these things, my children, to your children, so that they will not disobey him.”
7:5 “For I know that you will be thoroughly disobedient, that you will be thoroughly irreligious, heeding not God’s Law but human commandments, being corrupted by evil.”
7:6 “For this reason, you will be scattered like Dan and Gad, my brothers, you shall not know your own lands, tribe, or language.”
7:7 “But he will gather you in faith/truth through his compassion and on account of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Chapter 8

8:1 “After he had said these things he gave instructions, saying, Bury me in Hebron. And he died, having fallen into a beautiful sleep.”
8:2 “And his sons did as he commanded them: They took him up to Hebron and buried him with his fathers.”