Judgment on the Sinners and the Precious Stones

1 When Kenaz had taken all these words and written them in a book and read them before the Lord, God said to him, “Take the men and what was found with them and all their goods, and put them in the bed of the river Phison, and burn them with fire, so that my anger may cease from them.” 2 Kenaz said, “Shall we burn these precious stones also with fire, or consecrate them to you, for there are none like them among us?” God said to him, “If God should receive in his own name any of the accursed thing, what should man do? So now take these precious stones and all that was found, both books and men; and when you deal with the men, set apart these stones with the books, for fire will not be able to burn them, and afterward I will show you how you must destroy them. But the men and all that was found, you shall burn with fire. And you shall assemble all the people and say to them, ‘This is what will be done to every man whose heart turns away from his God.’ 3 “When the fire has consumed those men, then take the books and the precious stones, which cannot be burned with fire, nor cut with iron, nor blotted out with water, and lay them on top of the mountain beside the new altar; and I will command a cloud, and it will go and take up dew and shed it upon the books and blot out what is written in them, for they cannot be blotted out with any water except such as has never served men. And after that I will send my lightning, and it will burn up the books themselves. 4 “As for the precious stones, I will command my angel, and he will take them and go and cast them into the depths of the sea, and I will charge the deep, and it will swallow them up; for they may not remain in the world, because they have been polluted by the idols of the Amorites. And I will command another angel, and he will take for me twelve stones out of the place where these seven were taken; and you, when you find them on top of the mountain where he will lay them, take them and put them on the shoulder-piece, opposite the twelve stones that Moses set there in the wilderness, and consecrate them in the breastplate according to the twelve tribes. And do not say, ‘How will I know which stone to set for which tribe?’ I will tell you the name of the tribe that matches the name of the stone, and you will find both engraved together.” 5 Kenaz went and took all that had been found, and the men with it, and assembled all the people again, and said to them, “You have seen all the wonders God has shown us to this day; and when we searched out all who had deviously devised evil against the Lord and against Israel, God revealed them according to their works. Now cursed be every man who plans to do the like among you, brothers.” And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen.” When he had said this, he burned all the men with fire, and all that was found with them, except the precious stones. 6 After that Kenaz wanted to test whether the stones could be burned with fire, and cast them into the fire. And when they fell in, the fire was immediately quenched. Kenaz took iron to break them, and when the sword touched them, the iron melted. Then he wanted at least to blot out the books with water, but when the water fell on them, it froze. When he saw this, he said, “Blessed be God, who has done such great wonders for the children of men, and made Adam the first-created and showed him all things; so that when Adam had sinned through them, he then denied him all these things, so that, if he showed them to the race of men, they would not gain mastery over them.” 7 When he had said this, he took the books and the stones and laid them on top of the mountain by the new altar, as the Lord had commanded him, and took a peace offering and burnt offerings and offered 2,000 on the new altar, offering them all as a burnt sacrifice. On that day he and all the people together kept a great feast. 8 That night God did as he had said to Kenaz: he commanded a cloud, and it went and took dew from the ice of paradise and shed it upon the books and blotted them out. After that an angel came and burned them up, and another angel took the precious stones and cast them into the heart of the sea, and he charged the depth of the sea, and it swallowed them up. And another angel went and brought twelve stones and laid them right by the place from which he had taken the seven. And he engraved on them the names of the twelve tribes. 9 Kenaz arose the next morning and found those twelve stones on top of the mountain where he himself had laid the seven. And the engraving on them was as if the form of eyes was portrayed on them. 10 The first stone, on which was written the name of the tribe of Ruben, was like a sardine stone. The second stone was engraved with ivory, and on it was engraved the name of the tribe of Simeon, and the likeness of a topaz was seen in it. On the third stone was engraved the name of the tribe of Levi, and it was like an emerald. The fourth stone was called a crystal, on which was engraved the name of the tribe of Juda, and it was like a carbuncle. The fifth stone was green, and on it was engraved the name of the tribe of Isachar, and the color of a sapphire was in it. The engraving of the sixth stone was as if it had been inscribed, speckled with various markings, and on it was written the tribe of Zabulon, and the jasper stone was like it. 11 The engraving of the seventh stone shone and showed within itself, as if it enclosed the water of the deep, and on it was written the name of the tribe of Dan, and that stone was like a ligure. The eighth stone was cut with adamant, and on it was written the name of the tribe of Neptalim, and it was like an amethyst. The engraving of the ninth stone was pierced, and it was from Mount Ophir, and on it was written the tribe of Gad, and an agate stone was like it. The engraving of the tenth stone was hollowed and gave the likeness of a stone of Theman, and on it was written the tribe of Aser, and a chrysolite was like it. The eleventh stone was a choice stone from Libanus, and on it was written the name of the tribe of Joseph, and a beryl was like it. The twelfth stone was cut from the height of Sion, and on it was written the tribe of Benjamin, and the onyx stone was like it. 12 God said to Kenaz, “Take these stones and put them in the ark of the covenant of the Lord with the tablets of the covenant that I gave to Moses at Horeb, and they will be there with them until Jael arises to build a house in my name; and then he will set them before me upon the two cherubim, and they will be in my sight as a memorial of the house of Israel. 13 “And when the sins of my people are full, and their enemies have mastery over their house, I will take these stones and the former ones together with the tablets, and lay them up in the place from which they were first brought forth, and they will be there until I remember the world and visit the dwellers on earth. Then I will take them, and many others better than they, from that place which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man,⁠a until the like comes to pass for the world; and the righteous will have no need of the light of the sun nor of the shining of the moon, for the light of the precious stones will be their light.” 14 Kenaz arose and said, “See what good things God has done for men, and because of their sins they have been deprived of them all. Now I know this day that the race of men is weak, and their life will be counted as nothing.” 15 And having said this, he took the stones from the place where they were laid, and as he took them, there was, as it were, the light of the sun poured out upon them, and the earth shone with their light. Kenaz put them in the ark of the covenant of the Lord with the tablets, as he was commanded, and there they are to this day.