The Testament Of Benjamin
1926 anthology, complete selected publisher reading text
Rutherford H. Platt
37 The good mind hath not two tongues, of blessing and of cursing, of contumely and of honour, of sorrow and of joy, of quietness and of confusion, of hypocrisy and of truth, of poverty and of wealth; but it hath one disposition, uncorrupt and pure, concerning all men.
38 It hath no double sight, nor double hearing; for in everything which he doeth, or speaketh, or seeth, he knoweth that the Lord looketh on his soul.
39 And he cleanseth his mind that he may not be condemned by men as well as by God.
40 And in like manner the works of Beliar are twofold, and there is no singleness in them.
41 Therefore, my children, I tell you, flee the malice of Beliar; for he giveth a sword to them that obey him.
42 And the sword is the mother of seven evils. First the mind conceiveth through Beliar, and first there is bloodshed; secondly ruin; thirdly, tribulation; fourthly, exile; fifthly, dearth; sixthly, panic; seventhly, destruction.
43 ‘Therefore was Cain also delivered over to seven vengeances by God, for in every hundred years the Lord brought one plague upon him.
44 And when he was two hundred years old he began to suffer, and in the nine-hundredth year he was destroyed.
45 For on account of Abel, his brother, with -all the evils was he judged, but Lamech with seventy times seven.
46 Because for ever those, who are like Cain in envy and hatred of brethren, shall be punished with the same judgement.
CHAP. II.
Verse 3 contains a striking example of the homeliness--yet vividness of the figures of speech of these ancient patriarchs.
AND do ye, my children, flee evil-doing, envy, and hatred of brethren, and cleave to goodness and love.
2 He that hath a pure mind in love, looketh not after a woman with a view to fornication; for he hath no defilement in his heart, because the Spirit of God resteth upon him.
3 For as the sun is not defiled by shining on dung and mire, but rather drieth up both and driveth away the evil smell; so also the pure mind, though encompassed by the defilements of earth, rather cleanseth them and is not itself defiled.
4 And I believe that there will be also evil-doings among you, from the words of Enoch the righteous: that ye shall commit fornication with the fornication of Sodom, and shall perish, all save a few, and shall renew wanton deeds with women; and the kingdom of the Lord shall not be among you, for straightway He shall take it away.
5 Nevertheless the temple of God shall be in your portion, and the last temple shall be more glorious than the first.
6 And the twelve tribes shall be gathered together there, and all the Gentiles, until the Most High shall send forth His salvation in the visitation of an only-begotten prophet.
7 And He shall enter into the first temple, and there shall the Lord be treated with outrage, and He shall be lifted up upon a tree.
8 And the veil of the temple shall be rent, and the Spirit of God shall pass on to the Gentiles as fire poured forth.
9 And He shall ascend from Hades and shall pass from earth into heaven.
10 And I know how lowly He shall be upon earth, and how glorious in heaven.
11 Now when Joseph was in Egypt, I longed to see his figure and the form of his countenance; and through the prayers of Jacob my father I saw him, while awake in the daytime, even his entire figure exactly as he was.
12 And when he had said these things, he said unto them: Know ye, therefore, my children, that I am dying.
13 Do ye, therefore, truth each one to his neighbour, and keep the law of the Lord and His commandments.
14 For these things do I leave you instead of inheritance.
15 Do ye also, therefore, give them to your children for an everlasting possession; for so did both Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.
16 For all these things they gave us for an inheritance, saying: Keep the commandments of God, until the Lord shall reveal His salvation to all Gentiles.
17 And then shall ye see Enoch, Noah, and Shem, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, rising on the right hand in gladness,
18 Then shall we also rise, each one over our tribe, worshipping the King of heaven, who appeared upon earth in the form of a man in humility.
19 And as many as believe on Him on the earth shall rejoice with Him.
20 Then also all men shall rise, some unto glory and some unto shame.
21 And the Lord shall judge Israel first, for their unrighteousness; for when He appeared as God in the flesh to deliver them they believed Him not.
22 And then shall He judge all the Gentiles, as many as believed Him not when He appeared upon earth.
23 And He shall convict Israel through the chosen ones of the Gentiles, even as He reproved Esau through the Midianites, who deceived their brethren, so that they fell into fornication, and idolatry; and they were alienated from God, becoming therefore children in the portion of them that fear the Lord.
24 If ye therefore, my children, walk in holiness according to the commandments of the Lord, ye shall again dwell securely with me, and all Israel shall be gathered unto the Lord.
25 And I shall no longer be called a ravening wolf on account of your ravages, but a worker of the Lord distributing food to them that work what is good.
26 And there shall arise in the latter days one beloved of the Lord, of the tribe of Judah and Levi, a doer of His good pleasure in his mouth, with new knowledge enlightening the Gentiles.
27 Until the consummation of the age shall he be in the synagogues of the Gentiles, and among their rulers, as a strain of music in the mouth of all.
28 And he shall be inscribed in the holy books, both his work and his word, and he shall be a chosen one of God for ever.