The Mandaic Book of John

I said, “I am great!”
Who made me small on the Earth?

‎‎I said, “I’m the King!”
Why did they overthrow me from my throne?

The Great N’bat hated me,
and my mother Sharat hated me.

I have destroyed my worlds,
and ruin has come to my House.

When ‎‎I was gentle and meek,
why did they call me rebellious?

When they rewarded me as a righteous man,
why did they call me the author of wrongdoing?

When I was diligent and accomplished,
why did they call me feckless in the world?

When I was king from the beginning of the universe,
why is it that they have set me down at the end of the universe?

They set me down at the end of the universe,
and I am waiting in stocks.

Why have they called me rebellious,
and I summoned the gentle from within me?

When I was king in the universe,
why did they call me ‎‎the author of strife?

In such and such a manner it happens to every man,
who listens to the muttering of women.

The aeon who listens to the mutterings of women,
he will be cast down from the (or: his) world.

Then, when I stood out from the aeons,
why did they call me the Eighth?

Why did they separate the light from me,
and carry off my splendor?

They lifted ‎‎my garments from me,
and bound me on the spot on which I seek ‎‎my parents,
and my glance does not meet theirs.

I seek my wives,
but my wives does not meet my glance.

I seek my sons the aeons,
but they ‎‎do not meet my glance.

When it pains and oppresses me,
I weep ‎‎for myself.

Among all the aeons that did wrong,
‎‎they repaid me with the wrong [that] I did not do.

When I was gentle before ‎‎the king,
why did they cast me down from my throne?

Woe is me, whose mouth brought him down,
and whose tongue was an affliction to him.

They set me in bondage, called me a “wanderer,”
and by the treachery of my mouth overthrew me from my throne.

When I was king, they made me an aeon before whom is a king.

When I was gentle and humble,
all the aeons that were mine hated me.

Woe is me [?], all the consorts I had,
all of them, yes, all of them were greatly enraged with me,
and they bound me to a single place.

The victorious Life speaks,
and victorious is ‎‎the man that went there.

The End.

‎‎In the name of the Great Life,
exalted is the sublime light!

Whom shall I call, so that he might answer me,
and to whom should I give a speech?
‎‎To whom should I give a speech,
so that which I said will not change?
Neither the one to whom I called out my response,
nor the one to whom I said my speech, has heard.
‎‎It pained and oppresses me;
it has [already] oppressed and will [continue to] oppress me abundantly.

How long shall I sit at the Gate of Supat,
and how long shall I sit in sorrow?
When will my quarrel come to a resolution,
and will these chains of mine ‎‎come undone?
What offense have I given on high,
and what have I done in the place of light?
What have I done, among my deeds,
that no other has done?

Now it hurts me and it hurts [my heart?].
How long ‎‎shall I sigh,
and [how long] will it [continue to] harm the front of my face?
How long will they shed ‎‎the tears that they cannot hold back?
Who is like me, all of whose sons were driven away,
and for whom there isn’t anyone to respond to my voice?
I am like ‎‎a lofty cedar,
which the carpenters have surrounded and chopped down.
Like a cedar that iron has surrounded,
the words of my enemies surrounded me.

Neither my brothers in pity
nor my friends in friendship
remembered that I pledged the truth.
He turned them [?],
and they poured out my salt and my cup.
They forgot the day of my reckoning [?]
and do not recall even one of my days.

How long have I climbed tall mountains,
and how long have I plumbed valley roads?
I had a thousand friends,
and two thousand divvied up my offering tray.
Now ‎‎I don’t have anyone
to take me by my hand.
On what day did I say ‎‎
that I would be sitting here?
My mind has not been revealed to me,
and none among the Aeons taught me.
These fortresses of mine are devastated,
and my sons have been taken away through strife.
My House is deserted,
and my messengers will not meet with me.
These desirable wives of mine will go barefoot,
when they are wholesome women.
This ‎‎oppresses and constrains me;
my heart sinks in mourning and lamentations.

As Yoshamin said this, Knowledge-of-Life says,

The one who does good, finds good,
and the one who does that which is ‎‎odious,
finds that which is bad.
Had you been humble,
your radiance would not have left its place;
now that you have thought evil,
the place in which you sit is right!

When Knowledge-of-Life said this, Yoshamin spoke, saying,

My son, I know who bound me
in the binding that is upon me;
if the chains upon me were not heavy,
and a lighter one were encircling me,
‎I would have bellowed my great roar,
and destroyed all of the mountains.
‎‎I will do to my enemies
that which the one hasn’t managed to achieve for the other,
unless it is the day on which I get my demand.
If this comes to be,
namely that my throne is (re-)established,
I shall repay a debt,
so that the good shall become evil.
Nevertheless, I took solace in the fact
that I know that I am not alone.
I heard from my father
‎‎that the great who are joined/added (?) to the little
will be held responsible for their sins,
but fathers do not hate their sons.

When Yoshamin said this,
‎‎the Great Life delighted in his words.
He sent Radiant N’ṣab,
the guardian who resides everywhere.
He told him, saying,

Go forth to Yoshamin,
and set his heart upon its support,
and tell him, ‘You are from our crop,
we will not leave you alone.
Do not say, ‘I am alone.’
Your House was honorably and gloriously established,
and your fortresses and buildings ‎‎will rise just as they were.
Your sons will be raised up,
and your messengers will stand guard in your House.
Your throne is established and set in place, just like ‎‎it was,
and you will be called ‘King’ in your House.

When Radiant N’ṣab heard this, he went forth.
He came to Yoshamin, he said to him,

Yoshamin, listen to the words that I will say.
‎‎Don’t be concerned, don’t be enraged,
and don’t let error enter your mind.
Why should it be destined to be so,
that you will destroy the Great [Life]?
The Great [Life] sent me, and said to me,

Go to Yoshamin, calm Yoshamin,
and tell him to illuminate all of his aeons,
He should be supported,
but he should say he is brought low,
and know that ‎‎he is right with us.

Now you, Yoshamin, listen to the word of truth!
[Listen] to serenity and stand apart from rebellion.
Now, the stench is fleeing from your House,
and a pleasant wind blows upon you.
A pure breeze is coming,
and ‎‎then you will forget the trouble.
You will shine and gleam, you will be raised up
and become king in your world.

Life speaks, it is victorious,
and victorious is the man who has gone there.

The End.

In the name of the Great Life,
exalted is the sublime light!

Radiant N’ṣab came from the realm of the æther,
going to the Glorious Splendor.
He arrives at the Glorious Splendor,
at the Messenger who guards the gate, saying,
“Leave, Messenger, and tell the Great King
‘Radiant N’ṣab is standing at the gate!’
This message, ‎‎that comes from his mouth,
give to him with all due fidelity,
and may relief be summoned.”

The Messenger went thither,
he rose before the King of Light,
but the King of Light did not see the Messenger.
The Messenger bowed down once before the King of Light,
but the King did not see the Messenger.
The Messenger bowed down twice before the King of Light,
but the King did not see the Messenger.
The Messenger spoke, saying to the King,
“Radiant N’ṣab, the son of Yoshamin, is standing at the gate,
and is seeking some relief, out of your insight.”
The King of Light spoke, saying to the Messenger,
“Gloriously throw open the gate, open it,
and may he ground his feet upon the truth thoroughly!”

The Messenger gloriously threw open the gate.
Radiant N’ṣab stood tall.
Radiant N’ṣab spoke to the King, saying,
‎‎”You are relaxed and pleasant,
and your speech abounds and never flags.
Your radiance watches silently.
Your light and your enlightenment abound and never flag.
You have no peer in your crown
and no partner ‎‎in your rule.
You are a connoisseur of glory,
which reveals to you ‎‎teachings without end.
Your baptism in the Jordan ‎‎is well-established,
and all your accomplishments are your own.
As for us, if I tell you, don’t become angry,
and may the gentleness of the good
come to settle upon your mind.
Your vigilance, [with] which you ponder,
is sublime, and is unending (has no nullity).

“The man who is taken from his fortress
and driven away from his homes:
His sons were killed in a brawl,
and his wives wander about filthily.
His streams will be stirred up,
and his Houses will be driven from their places.
His home, his building, and his throne have been destroyed,
and he has been set at the Gate of Supat.
‎‎The disturbers of his world have been cast into captivity,
and they have put misery on his mind.

“If in you plan you should wish [it],
I shall settle and ‎‎calm down his mind right on the spot.
[I shall] set him straight through your baptism,
and mention your name over him.
Let Yoshamin be, ‎and he will recognize
that he has not been forsaken by your name.
The King of Light, who was angered,
has [now] calmed down,
and there was forgiveness on his mind.”

When the King of Light heard this,
he was delighted by it,
thoroughly delighted with Radiant N’ṣab.

Knowledge-of-Life rose ‎‎from his throne
and spoke to the King of Light, saying,
“The man who has been taken from his land and House:
you were not given the authority to forgive him.”

When the King of Light heard this,
‎‎to Knowledge-of-Life he said.
“You, from your first day,
have not been proper towards Yoshamin.
From your first day, you have hated him,
because you desired a woman from his family,
and he did not give [her] to you.
In your mind, you hold onto an immense grudge;
for generations it has not been released.
You have destroyed and ruined his household,
and yet you still hold onto the grudge!
For ages, who has had done to him,
what has been done to Yoshamin since the beginning?
‎‎The man who was taken away from his land,
and from the stole that the Great [Life] gave to him?
Out of his firstborn sons,
not one ‎‎among them remains,
and his wives go about filthily.”

Then ‎‎the King of Light said to Radiant N’ṣab,
“I shall reveal for you the secrets
that are within the constant light.
You will have the perception that [comes] from ‎‎your ancestors,
and the wisdom that was allotted to you for your mind.
You are precious, precious is your stream,
and precious is the family that [comes] from which you came.
Both you and the place
from which you came have abundant serenity.
Bring your father soothing words,
and set his heart to rest upon its support.
Tell him that the Great Life was filled with kindness ‎‎for you.”

And Life is praised, Life is victorious,
and victorious is the man who went there.
The End.

‎‎In the name of the Great Life,
may the sublime light be exalted!

When I, Yoshamin, thought,
I sought radiance, light,
revelation, ‎‎and explanations without end,
in the first treasure,
and sought to learn from the saying
that my father has given me.

‎‎I set my mind to do battle with the Great [Life].
I bundled up my rage and venom, and told my mind,

“Do battle with the First Life, the Second Life,
and the Life ‎‎before which none come.
Wage war and rebellion with the light,
and do ‎‎battle with those of the heavenly streams.
Wage a great war that is without end!”

The first time that Yoshamin thought something odious,
he did that which was unappropriate,
and then the aeons, with much anxiety that ‎‎they gave to me,
sent a messenger concerning him,
that he had put on wrath [and] covered himself with a sword.
The messenger brought him ‎‎the king’s letter,

“Your majesties, put Yoshamin in the great stocks,
‎‎for as long as the Great [Life] wills.”

The messenger that brought did not greet him.
He said to him, “Rise ‎‎from your seat.”

There was fear in his mind and he spewed ‎‎bile before him.
He got up from his throne, sat upon the ground, and said,

“Who will put the bonds on Yoshamin,
because the King has sent for him in rage?”

Yokashar got up from his throne,
and put the bonds in his right hand.
Yoshamin opened his mouth, saying to the Messenger,

“How long have you not seen my likeness and my stature,
and have you not drunk from a cup with me?
How long have you not eaten the sacramental bread from my platter,
and not woven the wreath, and not set [it] on your head?
How long have you not seen my form,
and my light has not shined over you?”

The messenger opened his mouth, saying to Yoshamin,

“Do not say that I came to you for my own sake;
the King sent for you in anger,
and I couldn’t [very well] say to Yoshamin,
‘Bliss and serenity from the men.’

The very good take pride,
when they don’t act according to the will of the evil.
Yoshamin [once] took pride in his fortresses and constructions;
his sons will be destroyed, entering a brawl,
and his wives will leave for zubs.

His radiance and his constant light grew dark,
and his accomplishments will be abandoned.
The rage ‎‎that the king has let out
will not be released for generations.

You, Yoshamin, you will sit down,
you will go to the Gate of Supat.
Your glory will be taken from you,
the crown that the Great [Life] gave you.
The constant light will be taken from you,
and darkness will settle ‎‎upon your building.
The fortresses of your sons will be destroyed,
and your thrones will be despoiled,
as long as the Great [Life] wills for you.
Your wife, ‎‎who will raise your brood,
will not be your own wife for generations [to come.]”

‎‎They will bring down the brood of all his stallions.

And Life is victorious!

The End.

On the day that Mind taught Yoshamin,
Yoshamin rose from his seat,
Yoshamin rose from his seat,
left for Knowledge-of-Life, and said to him,

“Blessed is your radiance, O King of the Aeons,
which is risen over us!”

And Life is victorious!
The End.

In the name of the Great Life,
may the sublime light be exalted!

When my father Yoshamin was thinking in the stocks,
in rage and defiance did he think in the great stocks,

“Let me start a war in the heights,
Let me see the Great Life waging this war with me.
Now I shall pick a great fight with him,
and he has created trouble for himself.
If he comes and escapes from me,
I will see ‎‎that there is none who is greater than me.
Who on high is worse than me?
Who in the place of light?
I am the greatest, and great is my radiance,
and there is no end to my glory.

When Yoshamin said this,
the Great Life knew and said,

“I shall cover up ‎‎the accomplishments of Good-for-Nothing Yoshamin.”
He summoned Knowledge-of-Life, wrote a letter and sent it.
He warned him with a serious warning and said to him,
“Look at his radiance, does it overwhelm him?
May he not say, ‘Great N’baṭ hated me
and the King of Light raged against me?’”

Knowledge-of-Life went and came ‎‎to the house of Yoshamin.
He arrived ‎‎at the house of Yoshamin,
Knowledge-of-Life arrived and spoke to Yoshamin, saying,

“When you were not great,
weren’t you nonetheless still drawing breath?
You were not great, ‎‎
why do you stake an attack against Him?
I am worried and pained about you, ‎‎Yoshamin,
who will be caught in the fetters of the Great Life.
Your prayers will [not?] be accomplished,
‎‎your anxieties will overwhelm you,
you will forget your words,
and your tears will fall from you to the ground.
‎‎I will tell Him on high that which He said to me on the Earth:
‎‎I sit down beside Yoshamin, and I say just as they said concerning him,
‘Yoshamin,’ I called, ‘There is no truth in what you perceive
and no sincerity in what you say.’”

When Knowledge-of-Life had said this, Yoshamin spoke, ‎‎saying to him,

“Were you not a messenger that they had sent, and you came,
I would have struck you with a great blow
and put an end ‎‎to your speeches;
your radiance would not shine forth,
and the light in which you stand would fail.”

When Yoshamin [had said this] and Knowledge-of-Life sees Yoshamin,
his abundant strength that his ancestors had blessed,
‎then Yoshamin knocked upon his House.
I covered up his radiance,
and each man cast me within the band.
Then ‎‎I and my brethren, the Aeons, did not change the things the kings had said.

And Life is victorious.
The End.

‎‎Blessed is the name of Knowledge-of-Life,
and Life is victorious.
The End.

‎‎In the name of the Great Life,
may the sublime light be exalted!

By my own authority,
by my own prayer and praise,
I have set the reigns of kings,
and I rule over the term.

I summoned the reign,
‎‎and the reign said your words to me.

As long as I cannot create, I shall destroy.
The Houses and the One who did not extend His hand
I have disturbed so that they cannot set things right.

‎‎I raised a great din up to the heights.
The war brought down the works
that he was ordering from their places,
the offering from myself.

Radiant N’ṣab spoke to Yoshamin, saying,

“Did I not tell you to not act out of rage
and start a fight in the Jordan?
You did not write to wage war.

You were small, you were smart.
Now, they call you a fool.
You had a seat ‎‎at the head,
Now they have put you at the gate of Supat.

You destroyed the things you have done since your childhood,
since [the time of] your first born.
You have not provided company to even one of them.
You have destroyed your lands and your buildings.
You removed your beds from their places.

Women were implanted [etinṣib] by you,
and women have been taken away [etinsib] from you.
The original constant light has been taken from you,
which the First [Life] bestowed upon your mind.

You have disturbed your great nest,
and you destroyed the works that were well-ordered.
You squeezed the great nest between the two kings.

As for you, your double will be released,
and the kings will cast your judgment.
It will not ‎‎be released to the orderly earth,
and the great one will not put in order the things
‎‎that have been set out.

You stand without any judgment, Yoshamin,
yet humility does not come ‎‎to your mind,
and you did not reflect.
Neither were you given orders nor were you ‎‎instructed,
and you did not seek wisdom from the First [Life].
You were not concerned about the constant light of the Jordan
and you did not seek the teachings from ‎‎the clouds.

You know full well, Yoshamin, the word that the King heard.
When it leaves his mouth, by mentioning it he brings
the sublime endless world to an end.

Do you not know, Yoshamin, that the destruction of a thousand years
cannot be restored in twenty-four thousand years ‎‎as it was?
Your offspring were taken away through disputes,
and you put the great stocks upon your feet.
You made them heavier, and sadness will never leave you be.
You put the tear in your eye,
‎‎flowing down like the waters of the Jordan.”

Yoshamin spoke to Radiant N’ṣab, ‎‎saying,

“I have sought sorrow with my own actions.
‎‎Now I will take it and not relinquish the truth of the sublime one,
‎‎and keep it safe until the Great [Life] does all that it wants.”

And Life ‎‎is victorious!
The End.