¹But I shall bequeath thy throne of dominion unto those whom thou didst fail to lead astray, even as My servant Job. The Lord who ruleth all spake, saying: I will give the Kingdom of Heaven unto those whom thou didst fail to lead astray.

²And I, the Devil, do provoke the children of Adam in all things; if it were possible for me to lead them astray, I would not suffer them to remain steadfast in good works. For I provoke all the children of Adam, and I make the pleasures of this world sweet unto them.

³Whether it be through the love of drink, of food, and of garments; or through the love of worldly substance; or through the withholding and the giving thereof...

⁴...or through the lust to hear and to see; or the lust to touch and to go; or through the increase of pride and of possessions; or through the love of dreams and of slumber...

⁵...or through the increase of drunkenness and of drinking; or through the increase of reviling and of wrath; or through speaking of idle sport and vain things...

⁶...or through strife and backbiting their fellows; or through looking upon the comely daughters of this world; or through the smelling of perfumes and fragrances that lead them astray...

⁷...I hate them through all this, that they cannot be saved. I distance them from the Law of the Lord, that they might enter with me into the destruction by which I was humbled from my rank.

⁸And the prophet spake unto him, saying: Thou that destroyest the people, perish! When thou didst depart from the Law of the Lord and commit transgression in thy stubbornness and thy pride—grieving thy Creator and worshipping Him not in thy haughtiness—wilt thou yet be lifted up against the creation of the Lord?

⁹When thy Creator was wroth with thee, He humbled thee from thy rank because of thine evil work. Wherefore then dost thou lead Adam toward iniquity—he whom his Creator made from the earth, whom He fashioned as a beloved being, and whom He set apart for His praise? he spake unto him.

¹⁰Whilst thou—who art subtle and wast created from wind and fire—wast lifted up, saying, I am the Creator...

¹¹...when thou didst boast, the Lord beheld thine evil work. After thou and thy hosts denied the Lord, He created Adam that he might praise Him in thy stead, that he might praise His Name without ceasing.

¹²Because thou didst make thyself more exalted than all the hosts of Angels who are as thou art, the Lord created Adam and his children that they might praise the Name of the Lord in the stead of the praise which thou and thy cast-out hosts once gave.

¹³For this cause the Lord destroyed thee, separating thee from all the chiefs of the Angels who are as thou art. Thy hosts, who were of one mind with thee—ye all went forth and erred from the praise of the Lord because of thy vain pride and stubbornness. Thou wast lifted up against thy Creator, and against none other.

¹⁴For this cause He created Adam from the earth, that He might be praised by humble beings. He gave unto him a Commandment and a Law, saying: Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the fig tree.

¹⁵And He set him over all the creation which He had made. He charged him, saying: Thou shalt not eat of the one fig tree that bringeth death, lest thou bring death upon thyself; yet thou mayest eat fruit of all the trees in the midst of the Garden.

¹⁶When thou didst hear this Word, thou didst place treachery in his heart by the words thou spakest through thy tongue unto Eve, who was formed from the rib of Adam.

¹⁷Thou didst lead astray Adam, who was clean, with steadfast treachery, that thou mightest make him a breaker of the Law even as thyself.

¹⁸When thou didst lead astray Eve—who was created as an innocent dove and knew not thy malice—thou madest her to betray through thy cunning and thy crooked words. After thou hadst led astray Eve, who was created first, she also went and led astray the creation of the Lord, even Adam, who was also created from the earth.

¹⁹Thou didst cause him to transgress in a disturbance that came not from his own pride; thou madest him deny the Word of his Creator, and thou didst destroy Adam in thy haughtiness.

²⁰In thy malice thou didst distance him from the Love of his Creator; by thy cunning thou didst send him forth from the Garden where joy dwelleth; and by thy hindrance thou madest him forsake the food of the Garden.

²¹For from of old thou hast contended with the innocent creation, Adam, that thou mightest cast him down toward Sheol, where thou shalt receive affliction—sending him away from the Love that brought him forth and created him from nothingness into true life. By thy lies thou madest him to thirst for drink from the Garden.

²²And though he be of the earth, the Lord made him as a subtle Angel who praiseth his Creator in his flesh, his soul, and his understanding.

²³He created for him a multitude of thoughts, even as the praise of harps in all their divers fashions.