Now while I much entreated God restrained
2My wise song, also in my breast again
3He put the charming voice of words divine.
4In my whole body terror-stricken these
5I follow; for I know not that I speak,
6But God impels me to proclaim each thing.
7But when on earth come shocks, fierce thunderbolts,
8Thunders and lightnings, storms, and evil blight,
9And rage of jackals and of wolves, manslaughter,
10Destruction of men and of lowing kine,
11Four-footed cattle and laborious mules,
12And goats and sheep, then shall the ample field
13Be barren from neglect, and fruits shall fail,
14And there shall be a selling of their freedom
15Among most men, and robbery of temples.
16And then shall, after these, appear of men
17The tenth race, when the earth-shaking Lightener
18Shall break the zeal for idols and shall shake
19The people of seven-hilled Rome, and riches great
20Shall perish, burned by Vulcan's fiery flame.
21And then shall bloody signs from heaven descend--
22But yet the whole world of unnumbered men
23Enraged shall kill each other, and in tumult
24Shall God send famines, plagues, and thunderbolts
25On men who, without justice, judge of rights.
26And lack of men shall be in all the world,
27So that if anyone beheld a trace
28Of man on earth, he would be wonderstruck.
29And then shall the great God who dwells in heaven
30Saviour of pious men in all things prove.
31And then shall there be peace and wisdom deep,
32And the fruit-bearing land shall yield again
33Abundant fruits, divided not in parts
34Nor yet enslaved. And every harbor then,
35And every haven, shall be free to men
36As formerly, and shamelessness shall perish.
37And then will God show mortals a great sign:
38For like a lustrous crown shall shine a star,
39Bright, all-resplendent, from the radiant heaven
40Days not a few; and then will he display
41From heaven a crown for contest unto men
42Who wrestle. And then there shall be again
43A mighty contest of triumphal march
44Into the heavenly sky, and it shall be
45For all men in the world, and have the fame
46Of immortality. And every people
47Shall then in the immortal contests strive
48For splendid victory. For no one there
49Can shamelessly with silver buy a crown.
50For unto them will the pure Christ adjudge
51That which is due, and crown the ones approved,
52And give his martyrs an immortal prize
53Who carry on the contest unto death.
54And unto chaste men who run their race well
55Will he the incorruptible reward
56Of the prize give, and to all men allot
57That which is due, and also to strange nations
58That live a holy life and know one God.
59And those who have regard for marriages
60And keep themselves far from adulteries,
61To them rich gifts, eternal hope, he'll give.
62For every human soul is God's free gift,
63And 'tis not right men stain it with vile deeds.
64[Do not be rich unrighteously, but lead
65A life of probity. Be satisfied
66With what thou hast and keep thyself from that
67Which is another's. Speak not what is false,
68But have a care for all things that are true.
69Revere not idols vainly; but the God
70Imperishable honor always first,
71And next thy parents. Render all things due,
72And into unjust judgment come thou not.
73Do not cast out the poor unrighteously,
74Nor judge by outward show; if wickedly
75Thou judgest, God hereafter will judge thee.
76Avoid false testimony; tell the truth.
77Maintain thy virgin purity, and guard
78Love among all. Deal measures that are just;
79For beautiful is measure full to all.
80Strike not the scales oneside, but draw them equal.
81Forswear not ignorantly nor willingly;
82God hates the perjured man in that he swore.
83A gift proceeding out of unjust deeds
84Never receive in hand. Do not steal seed;
85Accursed through many generations he
86Who took it unto scattering of life.
87Indulge not vile lusts, slander not, nor kill.
88Give the toilworn his hire; do not afflict
89The poor man. Unto orphans help afford
90And to widows and the needy. Talk with sense;
91Hold fast in heart a secret. Be unwilling
92To act unjustly nor yet tolerate
93Unrighteous men. Give to the poor at once
94And say not, "Come to-morrow." Of thy grain
95Give to the needy with perspiring hand.
96He who gives alms knows how to lend to God.
97Mercy redeems from death when judgment comes.
98Not sacrifice, but mercy God desires
99Rather than sacrifice. The naked clothe,
100Share thy bread with the hungry, in thy house
101Receive the shelterless and lead the blind.
102Pity the shipwrecked; for the voyage is
103Uncertain. To the fallen give a hand;
104And save the man that stands without defense.
105Common to all is suffering, life's a wheel,
106Riches unstable. Having wealth, reach out
107To the poor thy hand. Of what God gave to thee
108Bestow thou also on the needy one.
109Common is the whole life of mortal men;
110But it comes out unequal. When thou seest
111A poor man never banter him with words,
112Nor harshly accost a man who may be blamed.
113One's life in death is proven; if one did
114The unlawful or just, it shall be decided
115When he to judgment comes. Disable not
116Thy mind with wine nor drink excessively.
117Eat not blood, and abstain from things
118Offered to idols. Gird not on the sword
119For slaughter, but defense; and would thou might
120It neither lawlessly nor justly use:
121For if thou kill an enemy thy hand
122Thou dost defile. Keep from thy neighbor's field,
123Nor trespass on it; just is every landmark,
124And trespass painful. Useful is possession
125Of lawful wealth, but of unrighteous gains
126'Tis worthless. Harm not any growing fruit
127Of the field. And let strangers be esteemed
128In equal honor with the citizens;
129For much-enduring hospitality
130Shall all experience as each other's guests;
131But let there not be anyone a stranger
132Among you, since, ye mortals, all of you
133Are of one 'blood, and no land has for men
134Any sure place. Wish not nor pray for wealth;
135But pray to live from few things and possess
136Nothing at all unjust. The love of gain
137Is mother of all evil. Do not long
138For gold or silver; in them there will be
139A double-edged and soul-destroying iron.
140A snare to men continually are gold
141And silver. Gold, of evils source, of life
142Destructive, troubling all things, would that thou
143Wert, not to mortals such a longed-for bane!
144For wars, because of thee, and pillaging
145And murders come, and children hate their sires,
146And brothers and sisters those of their own blood.
147Plot no deceit, and do not arm thy heart
148Against a friend. Keep not concealed within
149A different thought from what thou speakest forth;
150Nor, like rock-clinging polyp, change with place.
151But with all be frank, and things from the soul
152Speak thou forth. Whosoever willfully
153Commits a wrong, an evil man is he;
154But he that does it under force, the end
155I tell not; but let each man's will be right.
156Pride not thyself in wisdom, power, or wealth;
157God only is the wise and mighty one
158And full of riches. Do not vex thy heart
159With evils that are past; for what is done
160Can never be undone. Let not thy hand
161Be hasty, but ferocious passion curb;
162For many times has one in striking done
163Murder without design. Let suffering
164Be common, neither great nor overmuch.
165Excessive good has not brought forth to men
166That which is helpful. And much luxury
167Leads to immoderate lusts. Much wealth is prowl,
168And makes one grow to wanton violence.
169Passionate feeling, creeping in, effects
170Destructive madness. Anger is a lust,
171And when it is excessive it is wrath.
172The zeal of good men is a noble thing,
173But of the base is base. Of wicked men
174The boldness is destructive, but renown
175Follows that of the good. To be revered
176Is virtuous love, but that of Cypris works
177Increase of shame. A silly man is called
178Very agreeable among his fellows.
179With moderation eat, drink, and converse;
180Of all things moderation is the best;
181But trespass of its limit brings to grief.
182Be not thou envious, faithless, or abusive,
183Or evil-minded, or a false deceiver.
184Be prudent and abstain from shameless deeds.
185Imitate not what's evil, but leave thou
186Vengeance to justice; for persuasion is
187A useful thing, but strife engenders strife.
188Trust not too quickly ere thou see the end.]
189This is the contest, these are the rewards;
190These are the prizes; this the gate of life
191And entrance into immortality,
192Which God in heaven unto most righteous men
193Appointed a reward for victory;
194And through this gate shall gloriously pass
195Those who shall then receive the victor's crown.
196But when this sign shall everywhere appear--
197Children with gray hair on their temples born--
198And human sufferings, famines, plagues, and wars,
199And change of times, and many a tearful wail,
200Ah! of how many parents in the lands
201Will children mourn and piteously weep,
202And with shrouds bury flesh and limbs in earth,
203Mother of peoples, with the blood and dust
204Themselves defiling. O ye wretched men
205Of the last generation, evil doers,
206Terrible, childish, not perceiving this,
207That when the tribes of women do not bear
208The harvest time of mortal men is come.
209Near is the ruin when impostors come
210Instead of prophets speaking on the earth.
211And Beliar shall come and many signs
212Perform for men. And then of holy men,
213Elect and faithful, there shall be confusion,
214And pillaging of them and of the Hebrews.
215And there shall be upon them fearful wrath
216When from the east a people of twelve tribes
217Shall come in search of kindred Hebrew people
218Whom Assyrian shoot destroyed; and over these
219Shall nations perish. But they afterwards
220Shall over men exceeding mighty rule,
221Elect and faithful Hebrews, and enslave
222Them as before, since their power ne'er shall fail.
223He that is highest of all, the all-surveying,
224Dwelling in heaven, will scatter sleep on men,
225Covering the eyelids o'er. O blessed servants
226Whom when the Master comes he finds awake!
227And they all watch at all times and expect
228With sleepless eyes. For it will be at dawn
229Or eve or midday; but he sure shall come,
230And it shall be as I say, it shall be,
231To them that sleep, that from the starry heaven
232The stars at midday will to all appear
233With the two lights as the time hastens on.
234And then the Tishbite, urging from the heaven
235His chariot celestial, and on earth
236Arriving, shall to all the world display
237Three evil signs of life to be destroyed.
238Alas for all the women in that day
239Who shall be found with burden in the womb!
240Alas for all who suckle tender babes!
241Alas for all who shall dwell on the waves!
242Alas for women who shall see that day!
243For a dark mist shall hide the boundless world,
244East, west, and south, and north. And then shall flow
245A mighty stream of burning fire from heaven
246And every place consume, earth, ocean vast,
247And gleaming sea, and lakes and rivers, springs,
248And cruel Hades and the heavenly sky.
249And heavenly lights shall break up into one
250And into outward form all-desolate.
251For stars from heaven shall fall into all seas.
252And all the souls of men shall gnash their teeth
253Burned both by sulphur stream and force of fire
254In ravenous soil, and ashes hide all things.
255And then of the world all the elements
256Shall be bereft, air, earth, sea, light, sky, days,
257Nights; and no longer in the air shall fly
258Birds without number, nor shall living things
259That swim the sea swim any more at all,
260Nor freighted vessel o'er the billows pass,
261Nor kine straight-guiding plow the field, nor sound
262Of furious winds; but he shall fuse all things
263Together, and shall pick out what is pure.
264But when the immortal God's eternal angels
265Arakiel, Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel,
266And Azael, they that know how many evils
267Anyone did before, shall from dark gloom
268Then lead to judgment all the souls of men
269Before the judgment-seat of the great God
270Immortal; for imperishable is
271One only, himself the almighty, One,
272Who shall be judge of mortals; and to them
273That dwell beneath will then the heavenly One
274Give souls and spirit and voice, and also bones
275Fitted with joints unto all kinds of flesh,
276And both the flesh and sinews, veins and skin
277About the body, and hair as before;
278Divinely fashioned and with breathing moved
279Shall bodies of those on earth one day be raised.
280And then shall Uriel, mighty angel, break
281The bolts of stern and lasting adamant
282Which, monstrous, bold the brazen gates of Hades,
283Straight cast them down, and unto judgment lead
284All forms that have endured much suffering,
285Chiefly the shapes of Titans born of old,
286And giants, and all whom the deluge whelmed,
287And all that perished in the billowy seas,
288And all that furnished banquet for the beasts
289And creeping things and fowls, these in a mass
290Shall (Uriel) summon to the judgment-seat;
291And also those whom flesh-devouring fire
292Destroyed in flame, even these shall he collect
293And place before the judgment-seat of God.
294And when the high-thundering Lord of Sabaoth
295Making an end of fate shall raise the dead,
296Sit on his heavenly throne, and firmly fix
297The mighty pillar, then amid the clouds
298Christ, who himself is incorruptible,
299Shall come unto the Incorruptible
300In glory with pure angels, and shall sit
301At the right hand on the great judgment-seat
302To judge the life of pious and the way
303Of impious men. And Moses, the great friend
304Of the Most High, shall come enrobed in flesh
305Also great Abraham himself shall come,
306Isaac and Jacob, Joshua, Daniel,
307Elijah, Habakkuk and Jonah, and
308Those whom the Hebrews slew. But he'll destroy
309The Hebrews after Jeremiah, all
310Who are to be judged at the judgment-seat,
311That worthy recompense they may receive
312And pay for all each did in mortal life.
313And then shall all pass through the burning stream
314Of flame unquenchable; but all the just
315Shall be saved; and the godless furthermore
316Shall to all ages perish, all who did
317Evils aforetime, and committed murders,
318And all who are accomplices therein,
319Liars and thieves, and ruiners of home,
320Crafty and terrible, and parasites,
321And marriage-breakers pouring forth vile words,
322Dread, wanton, lawless, and idolaters;
323And all who left the great immortal God,
324Became blasphemers did the pious harm,
325Destroying faith and killing righteous men
326And all that with a shamelessness deceitful
327And double-faced rush in as presbyters
328And reverend ministers, who knowingly
329Give unjust judgments, yielding to false words
330More hurtful than the leopards and the wolves
331And more vile; and ill that are grossly proud
332And usurers, who gains on gains amass
333And damage orphans and widows in each thing;
334And all that give to widows and to orphans
335The fruit of unjust deeds, and all that cast
336Reproach in giving from their own hard toils;
337And all that left their parents in old age,
338Not paying them at all, nor offering
339To parents filial duty, and all who
340Were disobedient and against their sires
341Spoke a harsh word; and all that pledges took
342And then denied them; and the servants all
343Who were against their masters, and again
344Those who licentiously defiled the flesh;
345And all who loosed the girdle of the maid
346For secret intercourse, and all who caused
347Abortions, and all who their offspring cast
348Unlawfully away; and sorcerers
349And sorceresses with them, and these wrath
350Of the heavenly and immortal God shall drive
351Against a pillar where shall all around
352In a circle flow a restless stream of fire;
353And deathless angels of the immortal God,
354Who ever is, shall bind with lasting bonds
355In chains of flaming fire and from above
356Punish them all by scourge most terribly;
357And in Gehenna, in the gloom of night,
358Shall they be cast 'neath many horrid beasts
359Of Tartarus, where darkness is immense.
360But when there shall be many punishments
361Enforced on all who had an evil heart,
362Yet afterward shall there a fiery wheel
363From a great river circle them around,
364Because they had a care for wicked deeds.
365And then one here, another there, shall sires,
366Young children, mothers, nursing babes, in tears
367Wail their most piteous fate. No fill of tears
368Shall be for them, nor piteous voice be heard
369Of them that moan, one here, another there,
370But long worn under dark, dank Tartarus
371Aloud shall they cry; and they shall repay
372In cursed places thrice as much as all
373The evil work they did, burned with much fire;
374And all of them, consumed by raging thirst
375And hunger, shall in anguish gnash their teeth
376And call death beautiful, and death shall flee
377Away from them. For neither death nor night
378Shall ever give them rest. And many things in vain
379Will they ask of the God that rules on high,
380And then will he his face turn openly
381Away from them. For he to erring men
382Gave, in seven ages for repentance, signs
383By the hands of a virgin undefiled.
384But the others, all to whom right and fair works
385And piety and thoughts most just were dear,
386Shall angels, bearing through the burning stream,
387Lead unto light and life exempt from care,
388Where comes the immortal way of the great God
389And fountains three--of honey, wine, and milk.
390And equal land for all, divided not
391By walls or fences, more abundant fruits
392Spontaneous shall then bear, and the course
393Of life be common and wealth unapportioned.
394For there no longer will be poor nor rich,
395Tyrant nor slave, nor any great nor small,
396Nor kings nor leaders; all alike in common.
397No more at all will one say, "night has come,"
398Nor "morrow comes," nor "yesterday has been;
399Nor shall there many days of anxious care,
400Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-heat,
401Nor autumn be [nor marriage, nor yet death,
402Nor sales, nor purchases], nor set of sun
403Nor rising; for a long day will God make.
404And to the pious will the almighty God
405Imperishable grant another thing,
406When they shall ask the imperishable God:
407That he will suffer men from raging fire
408And endless gnawing anguish to be saved;
409And this will he do. For hereafter he
410Will pluck them from the restless flame, elsewhere
411Remove them, and for his own people's sake
412Send them to other and eternal life
413With the immortals, in Elysian field,
414Where move far-stretching billows of the lake
415Of ever-flowing Acheron profound.
416Ah, miserable woman that I am!
417What shall I be in that day? for I sinned--
418Being busy foolishly about all things,
419Caring for neither marriage-bond nor reason;
420But even in my wealthy husband's house
421I shut the needy out; and formerly
422I knowingly performed unlawful things.
423But, Saviour, though I shameless things performed,
424Do thou from my tormentors rescue me,
425A shameless woman. And I pray thee now
426Make me to rest a little from my song,
427Holy Giver of manna, King of the great realm.