These are fragments of manuscript from the
Dead Sea Scrolls, and part of a collection of fragments referred to as both '
The Secret of the Way Things Are' and 'A Sapiental Work.' Fragment 1 deals with a '
Judgement Day' of sorts, while Fragment 2 gives general life instructions on issues from poverty and borrowing money to gaining true
knowledge to
marriage. The verse referred to in Column 3, Line 21, is from
Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Fragment 1
2…and to measure His will …
3time by time …
4according to their host, for the need …
5and its kingdom learn well …
6according to the need of their host …
7and the host of heaven He has established …
8by their symbols and signs for …
9One to the other and all their vast number … He has numbered …
10in heaven. He will judge the work of wickedness, but all those who belong to the truth He will favor …
11its time, and all who have indulged in wickedness will be afraid and cry aloud, for Heaven sees …
12waters and abysses were afraid, and every mortal spirit will be laid bare, and the members
of the heavenly retinue …
13He judges it, and every evil act will perish, and the era of truth will be complete …
14in all the eras of eternity, for He is the God of truth, and of old the years of …
15 to establish justice between good and evil …
16it is the impulse of flesh, and he who understands …
Fragment 2
Column 1
21If you are in a hurry
22to avoid sending … from him you should ask your food, for he
Column 2
1has opened up his generosity … all the needs of his goodness, giving food
2to everything that has life, without … it he should close his hand, the spirit of everything
3mortal would be withdrawn. Do not accept … In the time of our reproach, cover your face, and in the folly of
4imprisonment … As for money … whoever borrows should repay quickly. Then you will be quit of your lender, for otherwise your purse
5with all its treasures you have effectively left with him. As for someone who lends you money because he is your friend, and all your life you owe him, quickly give him what is his, so that
6he does not take your purse. In such dealings do not degrade yourself; do not exchange your holy spirit for any amount of money
7for there is no price adequate for your spirit … Let no man turn you aside from worshiping God. In His favor seek His presence, and according to His way of speaking
8you should speak, and then you will find what you truly desire … do not be lax in your regulations, and preserve the secrets you have learned.
9… if he assigns you a task do not allow sleep to your eyes until you perform
10it … do not add, but if you must deposit … do not let any money be left over without
11… lest he should say, He has defrauded me and … and behold how powerful is
12human jealousy. It deceives the heart … so in His will be strong in His service and in the wisdom of His goodness.
13 you will be to Him like a firstborn son and He will feel for you as a man does for his only
child
14… for you … so do not be too credulous, lest you err inadvertently; and yet do not be
overanxious of your pride
15…Do not lower yourself to whatever is not worthy of you; then you will be
16 … Do not touch anything for which your strength is not equal, lest you falter and you are terribly embarrassed.
17Do not become preoccupied with money; it is good for you to be a servant in spirit, and to
serve your overseer freely.
18Do not sell your honor for any price, and do not barter away your inheritance, lest you bring ruin on your body. Do not overindulge yourself with bread …
19without clothing. Do not drink wine when there is no food. Do not seek luxuries when you…
20lack bread. Do not pride yourself on your need when you are poor, lest …
21you despise your life, and moreover, do not disdain your wife, your closest companion.
Column 3
2Remember that you are poor … in your … and your poverty
3you will not linger, nor when it goes well for you … If someone leaves something valuable with you,
4do not touch it, lest you be burned and completely consumed by its fire. As you have taken it, so return it
5and joy will be yours if you are innocent with regard to it. Also, do not take money from any one that you do not know
6lest he add to your poverty. But if he forces it on you with the threat of death, deposit it safely, and do not corrupt your soul
7with it. Then you shall lie down to die with the truth, and when you expire, your memory will blossom like the … and your posterity will inherit
8joy. Yes, you are needy. Do not crave anything except your inheritance, and do not be consumed by it, lest you cross
9the boundaries of the Law. If He should return you to an honorable position, conduct yourself accordingly, and, knowing the secret of the way things are, seek its causes; then you will know
10His true inheritance, and you will live righteously, for … in all your ways. Give honor to those who pay you honor
11and praise His name always, for your head is taller than the mountaintops, and He has made you sit among the nobility, and
12 he has made you master of a glorious inheritance. Seek His wil1 always. Yes, you are needy. Do not say, "Since I am poor,
13I cannot seek true knowledge." Just apply yourself to every kind of learning and in … refine your heart, and your thoughts will be characterized by great insight
14Seek the secret of the way things are, and give careful thought to all the ways of truth, look long at the roots of wickedness.
15Then you will know what is bitter for someone and what is sweet for a man. Honor your father by your poverty
16 and your mother in your ways, for a man's father is like God to him, his mother is like his superior. For
17they are the crucible of your conception, and since He gave them authority over you and formed the spirit, so serve them. And since He
18has revealed to you the secret of the way things are, honor them for your own honor's sake, and in … praise in their presence
19for your own life's sake and for length of days. Even if you are as poor as a sheep …
20without the law. If you would marry a wife in your poverty, take her from the Children of Light …
21from the secret of the way things are. When you are united, live together with your fleshly helper … For as the verse says, "A man should leave
Column 41his father and his mother and adhere to his wife and
they will become one flesh"
2He has made you ruler over her, so …
3God did not give her father authority over her, He has separated her from her mother, and unto you He has given authority . . . He has made your wife
4and you into one flesh. Later, He will take your daughter away and give her to another and your sons …
5But you, live together with the wife of your bosom, for she is the kin of …
6Whosoever governs her besides you has shifted the boundary of his life …
7He has made you ruler over her, for her to live the way you want her to, not making any vows or offerings …
8Turn her spirit to your will and every binding oath …
9annulling the utterance of your mouth, and forbidding the doing of your will …
10your lips making light of her, for your sake do not …
11your honor in your inheritance … your bosom and shame …
12 in your inheritance lest
13the wife of your bosom and shame …
Translation by Edward Cook