1A record of what Dan told his sons in his last days, in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. 2 He called his family together and said: Listen to my words, sons of Dan, and pay attention to the words of your father. 3 I have learned in my heart, and throughout my whole life, that truth with fair dealing is good and pleasing to God, and that lying and anger are evil, because they teach a person every kind of wickedness. 4 So today I confess to you, my children, that in my heart I was set on the death of my brother Joseph, that true and good man. 5 I was glad that he was sold, because his father loved him more than us. For the spirit of jealousy and vanity said to me: You too are his son. 6 One of the spirits of Beliar stirred me up, saying: Take this sword and kill Joseph with it; then your father will love you once he is dead. 7 This was the spirit of anger that urged me to crush Joseph as a leopard crushes a young goat. 8 But the God of my fathers did not let him fall into my hands, so that I would not find him alone and kill him and cause a second tribe to be destroyed in Israel.
2Now, my children, I am dying, and I tell you truly: unless you keep yourselves from the spirit of falsehood and anger, and love truth and patience, you will surely perish. 2 For anger is blindness, and it keeps a person from seeing anyone else honestly. 3 Whether it is a father or mother, he treats them as enemies; whether a brother, he no longer recognizes him; whether a prophet of the Lord, he disobeys him; whether a righteous man, he ignores him; whether a friend, he refuses to acknowledge him. 4 For the spirit of anger entangles him in a web of lies, blinds his eyes, darkens his mind with falsehood, and forces its own distorted vision upon him.[1] 5 And how does it blind his eyes? By filling his heart with hatred, so that he grows envious of his own brother.
3Anger is an evil thing, my children, for it disturbs even the soul itself. 2 It takes over the body of the angry man and gains mastery over his soul, and it gives the body power to commit every kind of wrong. 3 When the body does all these things, the soul approves what is done, since it cannot see clearly. 4 So an angry man, if he is powerful, has a threefold strength in his anger: first, through the help of his servants; second, through his wealth, by which he wrongly persuades and overpowers others; and third, through his own natural strength, by which he carries out the evil. 5 Even if the angry man is weak, he still has twice his natural strength, for anger always aids such a person in lawlessness. 6 This spirit always walks with lying at the right hand of Satan, so that his works may be carried out with cruelty and lying.
4So understand the power of anger, that it is futile. 2 First it provokes with a word; then through deeds it strengthens the angry person, and with painful losses it disturbs his mind and stirs up his soul to great anger. 3 So when anyone speaks against you, do not be moved to anger; and if anyone praises you as holy men, do not be carried away. Do not be moved either to delight or to disgust. 4 For it first pleases the ear and makes the mind quick to find reasons for provocation; then, once enraged, he believes his anger is justified. If you suffer any loss or ruin, my children, do not be distressed, for this very spirit makes a person crave what is perishable, so that he may be enraged when he loses it. 5 And whether you suffer loss willingly or unwillingly, do not be upset, for from being upset comes anger joined with lying. 6 Anger joined with lying is a double evil; the two work together to disturb the heart. And when the soul is continually disturbed, the Lord departs from it, and Beliar rules over it.
5So observe the commandments of the Lord, my children, and keep his law. Turn away from anger and hate lying, so that the Lord may dwell among you and Beliar may flee from you. 2 Each of you, speak the truth with your neighbor. 3 Then you will not fall into anger and confusion, but you will be at peace, having the God of peace, and no war will prevail over you. 4 Love the Lord all your life, and love one another with a true heart. 5 I know that in the last days you will turn away from the Lord, provoke Levi to anger, and fight against Judah. But you will not prevail against them, for an angel of the Lord will guide them both, and through them Israel will stand. 6 Whenever you turn away from the Lord, you will walk in every evil and commit the detestable practices of the Gentiles, chasing after the women of the lawless, while the spirits of wickedness work in you with every kind of evil. 7 For I have read in the book of Enoch the righteous that your prince is Satan, and that all the spirits of wickedness and pride will conspire to work constantly on the sons of Levi, to make them sin before the Lord. 8 My sons will draw near to Levi. 9 And sin with them in everything; and the sons of Judah will be greedy, plundering other people's goods like lions. So you will be led away into captivity, and there you will receive all the plagues of Egypt and all the evils of the Gentiles. 10 And when you return to the Lord, you will receive mercy, and he will bring you into his sanctuary and give you peace. 11 From the tribe of Judah and of Levi the salvation of the Lord will arise for you, and he will make war against Beliar. 12 He will carry out everlasting vengeance on our enemies. He will take the captivity away from Beliar, the souls of the saints, and turn disobedient hearts to the Lord, and give eternal peace to those who call on him. 13 The saints will rest in Eden, and the righteous will rejoice in the New Jerusalem, and it will be for the glory of God forever. 14 No longer will Jerusalem endure desolation, nor will Israel be led captive, for the Lord will be in its midst, living among people, and the Holy One of Israel will reign over it in humility and poverty, and whoever believes in him will reign among people in truth.
6Now fear the Lord, my children, and beware of Satan and his spirits. 2 Draw near to God and to the angel who intercedes for you, for he is a mediator between God and humanity, and for the peace of Israel he will stand against the kingdom of the enemy.[2] 3 This is why the enemy is eager to destroy all who call on the Lord. 4 For he knows that on the day Israel repents, the kingdom of the enemy will be brought to an end. 5 For the angel of peace himself will strengthen Israel, so that it does not fall into the depths of evil.[3] 6 In the time of Israel's lawlessness, the Lord will not depart from them, but will transform them into a nation that does his will, for none of the angels will be equal to him. 7 His name will be in every place in Israel and among the Gentiles. 8 So keep yourselves, my children, from every evil deed. Cast away anger and all lying, and love truth and patience. 9 And the things you have heard from your father, pass on to your children as well, so that the Savior of the Gentiles may receive you, for he is true and patient, gentle and humble, and teaches the law of God by his works. 10 So turn away from all unrighteousness and hold fast to the righteousness of God, and your descendants will be saved forever. 11 And bury me near my fathers.
7When he had said these things, he kissed them and died at a good old age. 2 His sons buried him, and later they carried up his bones and placed them near Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 3 Yet Dan prophesied to them that they would forget their God and would be cut off from the land of their inheritance, from the people of Israel, and from the family of their descendants.