Column 4

1 the ages of eternity, and in all its deeds he delights forever. The other, he detests its counsel, and all its ways he hates for all time. 2 And these are their ways in the world: to light up the heart of a man, and to make straight before him all the ways of true righteousness, and to make his heart fear the judgments of 3 God; and a spirit of humility and patience and abundant compassion and eternal goodness and insight and understanding and mighty wisdom that trusts in all 4 the works of God and leans on the abundance of his kindness; and a spirit of knowledge in every plan of action, and zeal for righteous judgments, and holy 5 intent with a steadfast inclination, and abundant kindness toward all the sons of truth, and a glorious purity that detests all the idols of impurity, and walking modestly 6 with prudence in all things, and concealing the truth of the mysteries of knowledge. These are the counsels of the spirit for the sons of truth in the world. And the visitation of all who walk in it⁠a is healing⁠b 7 and abundant peace in length of days, and fruitful seed with all everlasting blessings, and eternal joy in life without end, and a crown of glory 8 with a robe of majesty in eternal light. 9 But to the spirit of iniquity belong greed and slackness of hands in the service of righteousness, wickedness and falsehood, pride and haughtiness of heart, lying and deceit, cruelty⁠c 10 and great hypocrisy, a short temper and great folly and insolent zeal, works of abomination in a spirit of fornication, and ways of impurity in the service of uncleanness, 11 and a tongue of blasphemies, blindness of eyes and dullness of ear, stiffness of neck and heaviness of heart, to walk in all the ways of darkness and evil cunning. And the visitation of 12 all who walk in it is an abundance of afflictions by the hand of all the angels of destruction, eternal ruin by the furious anger of the God of vengeance, everlasting terror and endless 13 disgrace, with the shame of destruction in the fire of the dark regions. And all their ages, for their generations, are spent in sorrowful mourning and bitter evil in the calamities of darkness, until 14 they are destroyed, with no remnant or survivor for them. 15 In these are the generations of all the sons of man, and in their divisions all their hosts have an inheritance for their generations, and in their ways they walk. And every deed 16 they do falls within their divisions, according to the inheritance of each, whether great or small, for all the ages of eternity. For God has set them side by side until the last 17 age, and he has put eternal enmity between their divisions. The deeds of iniquity are an abomination to truth, and all the ways of truth are an abomination to iniquity. And there is zealous 18 strife over all their judgments, for they do not walk together. But God, in the mysteries of his insight and in his glorious wisdom, has set an end for the existence of iniquity, and at the appointed time of 19 the visitation he will destroy it forever. And then the truth of the world will come out for all time, for it has wallowed in the ways of wickedness under the dominion of iniquity until 20 the appointed time of the judgment that is decreed. And then God will purify by his truth all the works of a man, and he will refine for himself the frame of man, to bring to an end every spirit of iniquity from the inward parts of 21 his flesh, and to purify him with a spirit of holiness from all wicked deeds. And he will sprinkle on him a spirit of truth like waters of cleansing,⁠d from all the abominations of falsehood and from wallowing 22 in a spirit of impurity, to give the upright insight into the knowledge of the Most High, and to teach the wisdom of the sons of heaven to those whose way is perfect. For God has chosen them for an eternal covenant,⁠e 23 and all the glory of Adam is theirs. And there will be no iniquity; all the works of deceit will be put to shame. Until now the spirits of truth and of iniquity struggle in the heart of a man.⁠f 24 They walk in wisdom and in folly. And according to a man’s inheritance in truth he is righteous and so hates iniquity, and according to his share in the lot of iniquity he is wicked in it and so 25 detests truth. For God has set them side by side until the decreed end and the making of the new. And he knows the working of their deeds for all the ages of 26 … And he gave them as an inheritance to the sons of man, to know good [and evil], to cast the lots for every living thing according to his spirit on the [appointed] day of the visitation.