When I stood in the House of Life,
I beheld the rebellious.
I beheld the gates of darkness.
I beheld the depths full of darkness.
I beheld the destructive
and the lords of the gloomy abode.
I beheld the warriors,
who are buried in darkness.
I beheld the gates of fire,
how they burn and glow.
The wicked burn and glow
and deliberate on imperfection and deficiency.
I beheld Hewath the female,
how she speaks in the darkness and malice.
She speaks in malice,
in witchcraft, and sorcery, which she practices.
She speaks with illusory wisdom
and sits enthroned in falsehood.
I beheld the gate of darkness
and the arteries of the earth Siniawis, just as they are there.
I beheld the black water in it,
which rose up, boiled, and bubbled.
Whoever enters there dies,
and whoever beholds it is scorched.
I beheld the dragons,
who were hurled there and writhe about.
I beheld dragons
of every type and every kind.
I beheld the chariots of the sons of darkness,
which do not resemble one another.
I beheld the wicked rebels,
as they are seated in their chariots.
I beheld the wicked rebels,
how they are arrayed with weapons of evil.
They are arrayed in weapons of evil
and plot evil against the Place of Light.
There is no boundary for the light
and it was not known when it came into being.
Nothing was when light was not,
nothing was when radiance was not.
Nothing was when the Mighty Life was not;
there never was a boundary for the light.
Nothing was when the water was not;
the water is prior to the darkness.
Prior to the darkness is the water:
there is nothing without an end.
There is no number, of which we could say,
how great it was before the uthras came into being.
The uthras are prior to the darkness,
prior to the darkness are the uthras
and more ancient than its inhabitants.
Goodness is prior
to the malice of the Place of Darkness.
Gentleness is prior
to the bitterness of the Place of Darkness.
The living fire is prior
to the consuming fire of the Place of Darkness.
Praise is prior
to sorcery and witchcraft, which the wicked practice.
The third jordan is prior
to the flowing water of the Place of Darkness.
Perception (or: instruction in the faith) is prior to this or that,
which the wicked of the Place of Darkness practice.
The call of the uthras is prior
to that of the powerful wicked ones of the Place of Darkness.
The throne of rest is prior
to the throne of rebellion.
Hymns and recitations (or books) are prior
to the sorcery of Hewath, the terrible woman
Mcl.. Wilson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974),
