Chapter 23

1

AND he placed two fingers of Ya`aqov on his eyes, and he blessed the Elohiym of elohiym, and he covered his face and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers.

2

And notwithstanding all this Ya`aqov was lying in his bosom, and knew not that Avraham, his father's father, was dead.

3

And Ya`aqov awoke from his sleep, and behold Avraham was cold as ice, and he said: Father, father; but there was none that spoke, and he knew that he was dead.

4

And he arose from his bosom and ran and told Rivqah, his mother; and Rivqah went to Yitschaq in the night, and told him; and they went together, and Ya`aqov with them, and a lamp was in his hand, and when they had gone in they found Avraham lying dead.

5

And Yitschaq fell on the face of his father and wept and kissed him.

6

And the voices were heard in the house of Avraham, and Yishma'el his son arose, and went to Avraham his father, and wept over Avraham his father, he and all the house of Avraham, and they wept with a great weeping.

7

And his sons Yitschaq and Yishma'el buried him in the double cave, near Sarah his woman, and they wept for him forty days, all the men of his house, and Yitschaq and Yishma'el, and all their sons, and all the sons of Qeturah in their places; and the days of weeping for Avraham were ended.

8

And he lived three jubilees and four weeks of years, one hundred and seventy five years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days.

9

For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were nineteen jubilees; and after the flood they began to grow less than nineteen jubilees, and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days by reason of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways, with the exception of Avraham.

10

For Avraham was perfect in all his deeds with Yahuah, and well pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life; and behold, he did not complete four jubilees in his life, when he had grown old by reason of the wickedness, and was full of his days.

11

And all the generations which shall arise from this time until the day of the great judgment shall grow old quickly, before they complete two jubilees, and their knowledge shall forsake them by reason of their old age and all their knowledge shall vanish away.

12

And in those days, if a man live a jubilee and a half of years, they shall say regarding him: 'He has lived long, and the greater part of his days are pain and sorrow and tribulation, and there is no peace:

13

For calamity follows on calamity, and wound on wound, and tribulation on tribulation, and evil report on evil report, and illness on illness, and all evil judgments such as these, one with another, illness and overthrow, and snow and frost and ice, and fever, and chills, and torpor, and famine, and death, and sword, and captivity, and all kinds of calamities and pains.'

14

And all these shall come on an evil generation, which transgresses on the earth: their works are uncleanness and fornication, and pollution and abominations.

15

Then they shall say: 'The days of the forefathers were many even unto a thousand years, and were good; but behold, the days of our life, if a man has lived many, are threescore years and ten, and, if he is strong, fourscore years, and those evil, and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation.'

16

And in that generation the sons shall convict their fathers and their elders of sin and unrighteousness, and of the words of their mouth and the great wickednesses which they perpetrate, and concerning their forsaking the covenant which Yahuah made between them and him, that they should observe and do all his commandments and his ordinances and all his Torah, without departing either to the right hand or the left.

17

For all have done evil, and every mouth speaks iniquity and all their works are an uncleanness and an abomination, and all their ways are pollution, uncleanness and destruction.

18

Behold the earth shall be destroyed on account of all their works, and there shall be no seed of the vine, and no oil; for their works are altogether faithless, and they shall all perish together, beasts and cattle and birds, and all the fish of the sea, on account of the children of men.

19

And they shall strive one with another, the young with the old, and the old with the young, the poor with the rich, the lowly with the great, and the beggar with the prince, on account of the Torah and the covenant; for they have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Shabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments.

20

And they shall stand'swords and war to turn them back into the way; but they shall not return until much blood has been shed on the earth, one by another.

21

And those who have escaped shall not return from their wickedness to the way of righteousness, but they shall all exalt themselves to deceit and wealth, that they may each take all that is his neighbor's, and they shall name the great name, but not in truth and not in righteousness, and they shall defile the Holy of Holies with their uncleanness and the corruption of their pollution.

22

And a great punishment shall befall the deeds of this generation from Yahuah, and he will give them over to the sword and to judgment and to captivity, and to be plundered and devoured.

23

And he will wake up against them the sinners of the other nations, who have neither mercy nor compassion, and who shall respect the person of none, neither old nor young, nor anyone, for they are more wicked and strong to do evil than all the children of men. And they shall use violence against Yashar'el and transgression against Ya`aqov, And much blood shall be shed upon the earth, and there shall be none to gather and none to bury.

24

In those days they shall cry aloud, and call and pray that they may be saved from the hand of the sinners, the other nations; But none shall be saved.

25

And the heads of the children shall be white with grey hair, and a child of three weeks shall appear old like a man of one hundred years, and their stature shall be destroyed by tribulation and oppression.

26

And in those days the children shall begin to study the Torah, and to seek the commandments, and to return to the path of righteousness.

27

And the days shall begin to grow many and increase amongst those children of men till their days draw nigh to one thousand years. And to a greater number of years than before was the number of the days.

28

And there shall be no old man nor one who is' satisfied with his days, for all shall be as children and youths.

29

And all their days they shall complete and live in peace and in joy, and there shall be no Satan nor any evil destroyer; For all their days shall be days of blessing and healing.

30

And at that time Yahuah will heal his servants, and they shall rise up and see great peace, and drive out their adversaries. And the righteous shall see and be thankful, And rejoice with joy forever and ever, And shall see all their judgments and all their curses on their enemies.

31

And their bones shall rest in the earth, and their ruachoth shall have much joy, and they shall know that it is Yahuah who executes judgment, and shows mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love him.

32

And do you, Mosheh, write down these words; for thus are they written, and they record them on the heavenly tablets for a testimony for the generations forever.



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