Vermes The Dead Sea Scrolls in English

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trials to come to an end.
After these words, the Priests shall sound to marshal them into
the divisions of the formation; and at the sound of the trumpets
the columns shall deploy until [every man is] in his place. Then
the Priests shall sound a second signal on the trumpets for them
to advance, and when the [foot-] soldiers approach throwing
distance of the formation of the Kittim, every man shall seize his
weapon of war. The Priests shall blow the trumpets of Massacre,
[and the Levites and all] the blowers of rams' horns shall sound a
battle alarm, and the foot-soldiers shall stretch out their hands
against the host of the Kittim; [and at the sound of the alarm]
they shall begin to bring down the slain. All the people shall
cease their clamour, but the Priests shall continue to blow [the
trumpets of Massacre and battle shall be fought against the
Kittim.]
... and in the third lot... that the slain may fall by the
mysteries of God . ..
[In the seventh lot] when the great hand of God is
raised in an everlasting blow against Satan and all the hosts of
his kingdom, and when Assyria is pursued [amidst the shouts of
Angels] and the clamour of the Holy Ones, the sons of Japheth
shall fall to rise no more. The Kittim shall be crushed without
[remnant, and no man shall be saved from among them].
[At that time, on the day] when the hand of the God of Israel is
raised against all the multitude of Satan, the Priests shall blow
[the six trumpets] of the Reminder and all the battle formations
shall rally to them and shall divide against all the [camps of
the] Kittim to destroy them utterly. [And as] the sun speeds to
its setting on that day, the High Priest shall stand, together
[with the Levites] who are with him and the [tribal] chiefs [and
the elders] of the army, and they shall bless the God of Israel
there. Speaking they shall say:
Blessed be Thy Name, O God [of gods], for Thou hast worked great
marvels [with Thy people]! Thou hast kept Thy Covenant with us
from of old, and hast opened to us the gates of salvation many
times. For the [sake of Thy Covenant Thou hast removed our misery,
in accordance with] Thy [goodness] towards us. Thou hast acted for
the sake of Thy Name, O God of righteousness ... [Thou hast worked
a marvellous] miracle [for us], and from ancient times there never
was anything like it. For Thou didst know the time appointed for
us and it has appeared [before us] this day ... [Thou hast shown]
us [Thy merciful hand] in everlasting redemption by causing [the
dominion of] the enemy to fall back for ever. (Thou hast shown us)
Thy mighty hand in [a stroke of destruction in the war against
all] our enemies.
And now the day speeds us to the pursuit of their multitude ...
Thou hast delivered up the hearts of the brave so that they stand
no more.
For Thine is the power, and the battle is in Thy hands! ...
For our Sovereign is holy and the King of Glory is with
us; the [host of his spirits is with our foot-soldiers and
horsemen. They are as clouds, as clouds of dew] covering the
earth, and as a shower of rain shedding righteousness on [all that
grows there].
[Rise up, O Hero!
Lead off Thy captives, O Glorious One!
Gather up] Thy spoils, O Author of mighty deeds!
Lay Thy hand on the neck of Thine enemies
and Thy feet [on the pile of the slain!
Smite the nations, Thine adversaries],
and devour flesh with Thy sword!
Fill Thy land with glory
and Thine inheritance with blessing!
[Let there be a multitude of cattle in Thy fields,
and in] Thy palaces
[silver and gold and precious stones]!
O Zion, rejoice greatly!
Rejoice all you cities of Judah!
[Keep your gates ever open
that the] hosts of the nations
[may be brought in]!
Their kings shall serve you
and all your oppressors shall bow down before you;
[they shall lick the dust of your feet.
Shout for joy, O daughters of] my people!
Deck yourselves with glorious jewels
[and rule over the kingdom of the nations!
Sovereignty shall be to the Lord]
and everlasting dominion to Israel.
... that night to rest until the morning. And in the morning [they
shall go to the place where the formation stood before the]
warriors of the Kittim fell, and the multitudes of Assyria, and
the hosts of all the nations [assembled with them] ... [slain,
for] they fell there under the Sword of God. And the High Priest
shall draw near, [with his vicar, and the chief Priests and the
Levites] ... of battle, and all the chiefs of the formations and
their numbered men; [they shall return to the positions which they
held before the] slain [began to fall] from among the Kittim, and
there they shall praise the God [of Israel] ...
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8 - The Hymns
The Hymns Scroll was published by E.L. Sukenik in 1954-5 (The Dead
Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem). It has suffered
a good deal of deterioration and the translator has difficulty,
not only in making sense of the poems, but also in determining
where one ends and the other begins.
I have counted twenty-five compositions similar to the biblical
Psalms. They are all hymns of thanksgiving, individual prayers as
opposed to those intended for communal worship, expressing a rich
variety of spiritual and doctrinal detail. But the two fundamental
themes running through the whole collection are those of salvation
and knowledge. The sectary thanks God continually for having been [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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