¹Whether it be that which is in Heaven or that which is upon the Earth, whether it be subtle or stout—all things and all His wealth do stand established in His Ordinance.

²There is nothing that hath departed from the Law and Ordinance of the Lord, who created all the world. Even the track of a vulture that flieth in Heaven—He commandeth it toward the place He desireth.

³He commandeth the path of the serpent of the earth that dwelleth in a cave toward whither He desireth, and the path of a ship upon the sea. Apart from the Lord alone, there is none that knoweth its path.

⁴And apart from the Lord alone, there is none that knoweth the path whither a soul goeth when it is separated from its flesh, whether it be a righteous or a sinful soul.

⁵Who knoweth whither it shall turn—whether it turneth in the wilderness or upon a mountain? Or whether it flieth as a bird, or is as the dew of Heaven that alighteth upon a mountain...

⁶or whether it is as the wind of the deep, or as lightning that maketh straight its own path...

⁷or whether it is as stars that shine in the deep, or as sand upon the seashore heaped in the deep...

⁸or whether it is as a foundation stone made firm upon the edge of the great deep, or as a tree that giveth goodly fruit, growing by a waterspout...

⁹or whether it is as the reed that the heat of the sun doth burn, which the wind lifteth up and carrieth unto another place where it grew not, and whose trace is not found?

¹⁰Or whether it is as a vapour of mist whose trace is not found? Who knoweth the Work of the Lord? Who are His counsellors? With whom hath He taken counsel?

¹¹Since the Thoughts of the Lord are hidden from the sons of men, who can search out and know His Work?

¹²As He created the Earth upon the Water and made her firm without stakes, there are none who can know the Counsel of the Lord or His Wisdom. He created Heaven in His perfect Wisdom, made it firm in the winds, and stretched forth a lofty firmament as a tent.

¹³He commanded the clouds to give rain upon the Earth, and caused the grass to grow, and brought forth fruits without number to be food for the children of men, that we might believe in the Lord and be joyful in unity.

¹⁴The Lord is He who giveth unto the children of Adam joy, fatness, and satisfaction. The Lord giveth that they might be satisfied and praise Him who gave them fruit from the Earth...

¹⁵and who clothed them in goodly raiment, giving them all love and plenty—the joy and gladness given unto those who fulfil the Will of the Lord.

¹⁶He giveth love and honour in the house He hath prepared and in the Kingdom of Heaven unto those fathers who keep the Law of the Lord.

¹⁷He giveth love and honour in the place He hath prepared and in the Kingdom of Heaven unto the fathers who dwelt steadfastly in His Worship and His Law, and who departed not therefrom. He made them renowned and raised them up to keep His Ordinance and His Law. I have seen what the Lord doeth for His beloved in this world, bringing low their enemies and keeping their bodies safe.

¹⁸I have seen that He giveth them all they ask of Him and fulfilleth their desires. Depart not from the Lord, but fulfil His Will.

¹⁹Depart not from His Commandment and His Law, lest He be wroth with you and destroy you at once—lest He be wroth and scourge you in the tribulation wherein ye dwelt formerly. Depart not from the Ordinance of your fathers, lest your dwelling be in Gehenna, where there is no deliverance for eternity.

²⁰Keep the Law of thy Creator when thy soul is separated from thy flesh, that He might do a good work for thee when thou standest before Him.

²¹For the Kingdoms of the Earth and of Heaven are His; Kingdom and might are His; and lovingkindness and pardon are His alone.

²²As He maketh rich and poor, as He maketh wretched and giveth honour—keep ye the Law of the Lord.

²³And David spake because of Him, saying: Man seemeth but vanity, and his days pass as a shadow.

²⁴He spake of Him, saying: But Lord, Thou livest for ever, and the remembrance of Thy Name endureth unto all generations.

²⁵And again he said: Thy Kingdom is the Kingdom of all the world, and Thy Dominion endureth unto all generations. Thou didst restore a kingdom unto David, taking it from Saul.

²⁶But there is none that can appoint Thee; there is none that can remove Thee. Thou seest all things, yet there is none that can behold Thee.

²⁷Thy Kingdom shall not perish for ever, unto all generations. There is none that shall rule over Him, but He ruleth all. He seeth all things, but none see Him.

²⁸As He created man in His Features and His Likeness, that they might praise Him and know His Worship in upright understanding without doubt, He searcheth and knoweth what the reins do bring forth and what a mind doth think.

²⁹Yet they bow down unto stone, unto wood, and unto silver and gold wrought by the hand of man.

³⁰They offer up sacrifices unto them until the smoke of their offering reacheth unto Heaven, that their iniquities might remain steadfast before the Lord; yet they refused to worship the Lord who created them. He shall bring accusation against them because of all the transgressions they committed in worshipping those idols.

³¹They learned to bow down unto idols and unto all manner of unclean and defiled work—divination by the stars, sorcery, the worship of idols, evil lusts, and all the work the Lord loveth not. They kept not the Commandment of the Lord which they had received.

³²Since they loved not to worship the Lord—though they might have preserved their bodies from iniquity and transgression through His servants the Angels and the riches they praise before the Lord—they do all this whilst lacking good works.

³³When they all arise together from the sepulchres wherein they were buried and wherein their bodies perished, their souls shall stand naked before the Lord. But the souls of the righteous dwelt in the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for them.

³⁴But the souls of the ungodly shall dwell in Gehenna. When the sepulchres are opened, those who are dead shall arise, and souls shall return unto the flesh from which they were formerly separated.

³⁵Even as they were born in their nakedness from their mother's womb, so shall they stand in their nakedness before the Lord. The iniquities they committed from their youth until that time shall be made manifest.

³⁶They shall receive the chastisement for their iniquities upon their bodies; whether their transgressions were few or many, they shall receive affliction according to their sins.