Dead Sea Scrolls

1For the master, that he may teach the saints to live according to the book of the Order of the Community: to seek God with all the heart and with all the soul, to do that which is good and upright before Him. 2As He commanded by the hand of Moses and by the hand of all His servants the Prophets; to love all that He hath chosen and to hate all that He hath rejected; to keep far from every evil and to cleave to every good work. 3To do truth and righteousness and justice upon the earth, and to walk no more in the stubbornness of a guilty heart and of lustful eyes, working every evil. 4To bring all that come forward, who freely offer themselves to do the statutes of God, into the Covenant of Mercy, that they may be united in the counsel of God. 5And that they may walk perfectly before Him in all things that are revealed at the appointed times, and that they may love all the sons of light, every man according to his lot in the council of God; and hate all the sons of darkness, every man according to his guilt in the vengeance of God. 6All who freely devote themselves to His truth shall bring all their knowledge, powers, and possessions into the Community of God, that their knowledge may be perfected in the truth of God's statutes, and their powers controlled according to His perfect ways, and all their possessions according to His righteous counsel. 7They shall not depart from any command of God concerning their times; they shall neither advance their seasons nor postpone any of their feasts. They shall turn aside from the way of the people. 8Every man, born of Israel, who freely pledges himself to join the Council of the Community, shall be examined by the guardian as to his understanding and his deeds. If he be found fit for the discipline, he shall be admitted into the Covenant. 9And he shall undertake by a binding oath to return with all his heart and soul to every commandment of the Law of Moses, in accordance with all that hath been revealed of it to the sons of Zadok, the priests who keep the Covenant. 10Whosoever declines to enter the Covenant of God shall not pass into the wilderness of his sin; nor shall his soul be cleansed by waters of cleansing, nor shall he be sanctified by the seas or rivers, nor purified by all the water of ablution. 11Defiled, defiled shall he be, all the days that he despises the precepts of God and refuses the discipline of community with Him. 12Then shall the priests bless all the men of the lot of God who walk perfectly in all His ways, saying: May He bless thee with all good and preserve thee from all evil. May He enlighten thy heart with the wisdom of life and favour thee with eternal knowledge. 13May He lift up His merciful countenance upon thee for everlasting bliss. And the Levites shall curse all the men of the lot of Belial, saying: Be thou cursed for the wickedness of thy guilty deeds; may God deliver thee up to terror by the hand of all the wreakers of vengeance. 14May He visit upon thee destruction; be thou cursed without mercy because of the darkness of thy deeds. Be thou damned in the shadowy place of everlasting fire. May God not hearken when thou callest on Him. 15And all who enter the Covenant shall confess after them, saying: Amen, amen. Thus shall they do, year by year, all the days of the dominion of Belial. 16From the fount of His righteousness is my justification; from His marvellous mysteries is the light in my heart. My eye hath beheld His wondrous deeds, and the light of my heart hath beheld the great mystery that ever shall be. 17He is the everlasting prop. My right hand shall be on the eternal rock; the way of my footsteps is over rugged ground that nothing shall move; for the truth of God is the rock of my footsteps, and His might is the prop of my right hand. 18From the source of His righteousness cometh my judgment; light is in my heart from His marvellous mysteries. Mine eye hath gazed on that which is eternal, on wisdom concealed from men, on knowledge and wise design hidden from the sons of men. 19From the spring of His righteousness, from the well of His knowledge, hath my justification come forth; my light hath sprung from the source of His glory; on the wonders of His ways my eye is fixed. 20He hath taught knowledge to him whom He hath created in His own image. He hath made him to rule over the inclination of his flesh, that he be not led astray by error, but be led aright in all his ways. 21And the men of the Community shall set apart a house of holiness for Aaron, that they may be united as a Holy of Holies, and as a house of community for Israel, that they may walk in perfection. 22Only the sons of Aaron shall command in matters of justice and possessions, and their word shall determine the lot of all provision for the men of the Community, and the possessions of the men of holiness who walk in perfection. 23Their possessions shall not be mingled with the possessions of the men of falsehood who have not cleansed their path in separating themselves from perversity and walking perfectly. 24They shall not depart from any maxim of the Law to walk in any stubbornness of their hearts; they shall be governed by the first ordinances by which the men of the Community began to be instructed, until there cometh the prophet and the anointed ones of Aaron and Israel. 25These are the rules whereby the master shall walk with every living thing, by the standard of every time and the weight of every man: to do the will of God in accord with all that is revealed for every time; to study every wisdom found in the times, and the rule of the time. 26To separate and weigh the sons of righteousness by their spirits; to hold fast the chosen of the time according to His will, as He hath commanded; to render to each his rights by his spirit, and to bring each near by the measure of his cleanness; to love him by his lot and to hate him by his lot. 27Not to reprove or quarrel with the men of the Pit, but to conceal the counsel of the Law in the midst of the men of perversity; to reprove with true knowledge and righteous judgment those who choose the way, each according to his spirit and the rule of the time. 28Then shall they not contend with the men of the Pit but bring the council of God before them, that they may by their understanding establish the truth and the law of righteousness in the place chosen by God. 29They shall not depart from the counsel of the Law to walk in all the stubbornness of their hearts. And they shall be judged by the first ordinances in which the men of the Community began to be disciplined. 30And let no man slacken his hand against the wicked, but withdraw his hand and his anger lest he share their judgment; for in the appointed time of God all who walk perfectly shall be lifted up. 31These are the times of His goodwill: the beginning of months at their seasons; the holy days at their appointed times for memorial in their seasons; the offering of the lips shall be as the sweet savour of righteousness. 32May He bless thee from the fountain of life and keep thee from every snare; may He set His grace upon thee and reveal to thee the secret of His knowledge. May He lift up His face upon thee for eternal peace. 33Thus the master shall bless those who fear God, doing His will, who keep His commandments, who hold fast to the Covenant of His mercy: Praise the Most High in all places of His dominion at every time when there entereth His covenant. 34Blessed art Thou, my God, for Thou givest knowledge to Thy servants, that they may understand Thy wondrous deeds and recount Thy mighty acts. Blessed art Thou, O God of mercies and grace, for the greatness of Thy might. 35I will sing with knowledge, and all my music shall be for the glory of God. My lyre and my harp shall sound for His holy order, and I will tune the pipe of my lips by His just measure.