Damascus Document

Damascus Document

Now listen, all who know righteousness, and understand the works of God, for he has a dispute with all flesh and will bring judgment upon all who reject him.

Because Israel acted treacherously and abandoned him, he hid his face from Israel and from his sanctuary and delivered them to the sword. Yet when he remembered the covenant of the first ones, he left a remnant for Israel and did not give them over to destruction. At the end of wrath, three hundred and ninety years after he had delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he visited them and caused a root of planting to spring from Israel and Aaron, to inherit his land and prosper in the goodness of his soil.

They recognized their guilt and knew that they were guilty men. For twenty years they were like blind men groping for the way. God considered their deeds, because they sought him with a whole heart, and he raised up for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of his heart. Through him he made known to the later generations what he had done to a former generation, to the congregation of traitors who had turned aside from the way.

This was the time concerning which it was written, “Israel strayed like a stubborn heifer,” when the scoffer arose and poured upon Israel waters of falsehood. He led them wandering in a pathless waste, bringing down the everlasting heights, turning them from paths of righteousness, and moving the boundary set by the first ones in their inheritance. Thus the curses of the covenant clung to them, and they were delivered to the sword that avenges the covenant. They sought smooth things and chose deception. They watched for breaches, chose the pleasures of the throat, justified the wicked, condemned the righteous, broke covenant and statute, and gathered against the life of the righteous one. They despised all who walked in integrity, pursued them with the sword, and rejoiced in the strife of the people. Therefore the anger of God burned against their congregation, to make their multitude desolate, and their deeds became unclean before him.

Now listen, all who have entered the covenant, and I will uncover your ears concerning the ways of the wicked. God loves knowledge. Wisdom and sound counsel stand before him; prudence and knowledge serve him. With him are patience and abundant forgiveness for those who turn from transgression, but also power, might, and great wrath in flames of fire, with all the angels of destruction, against those who depart from the way and reject the statute, so that they leave neither remnant nor escape.

Before they were established he knew their deeds. He rejected generations of bloodshed and hid his face from the land until they were consumed. He knew the appointed years and the exact number of their times, everything that has been and everything that will be, until their appointed end through all ages. In every generation he raised up for himself men called by name, so that a remnant might remain upon the earth and fill the face of the world with their offspring. Through his anointed ones he made them know his holy spirit. He established truth, and he made those whom he hated wander astray.

Children, listen to me, and I will open your eyes to see and understand the deeds of God, to choose what he desires and reject what he hates, to walk blamelessly in all his ways, and not to follow the thoughts of guilty inclination or eyes of fornication. Many were led astray by these things, and mighty men fell because of them from ancient times until now. Because they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, the Watchers of heaven fell. They were caught because they did not keep the commandments of God. Their sons, whose height was like cedars and whose bodies were like mountains, also fell. All flesh upon dry land perished and became as though it had never been, because they followed their own will and did not keep the commandment of their Maker, until his anger was kindled against them.

By the same inclination the sons of Noah and their families went astray, and because of it they were uprooted. Abraham did not walk in it, and he was counted a friend because he kept the commandments of God and did not choose the will of his own spirit. He handed this way on to Isaac and Jacob, and they kept it and were recorded as friends of God and men of the covenant forever.

The sons of Jacob strayed through it and were punished according to their error. Their descendants in Egypt walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, plotting against the commandments of God. Each did what was right in his own eyes, and they ate blood. Therefore their males were cut off in the wilderness. When he told them at Kadesh, “Go up and possess the land,” they rebelled against his spirit, did not listen to the voice of their Maker or to the instruction of their teachers, and murmured in their tents. Therefore the anger of God burned against their congregation. Their children perished through it, their kings were cut off through it, their warriors perished through it, and their land was made desolate through it. Through it the first who entered the covenant became guilty and were delivered to the sword, because they abandoned the covenant of God, chose their own will, and followed the stubbornness of their hearts, each doing according to his pleasure.

But with those who held firmly to the commandments of God, who remained among them, God confirmed his covenant with Israel forever. He revealed to them the hidden matters in which all Israel had gone astray: his holy Sabbaths, his glorious appointed times, the testimony of his righteousness, the ways of his truth, and the desires of his will, which a man shall do and live by them. He opened these things before them, and they dug a well of abundant waters. Whoever despises them shall not live.

Yet some wallowed in human transgression and in the ways of an unclean woman, saying, “This belongs to us.” But God, in the abundance of his wonders, made atonement for their sin and forgave their transgression. He built for them a sure house in Israel, the like of which had not stood from former times until now. Those who hold firmly to him are destined for everlasting life, and all human glory belongs to them, as God confirmed through Ezekiel the prophet: “The priests, the Levites, and the sons of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall bring near to me fat and blood.”

The priests are the exiles of Israel who went out from the land of Judah, together with those who joined them. The sons of Zadok are the chosen of Israel, called by name, who shall arise in the latter days. This is the interpretation of their names according to their generations, the appointed end of their standing, the number of their afflictions, the years of their sojourn, and the interpretation of their deeds. They are the holy ones through whom God made atonement. They justified the righteous and condemned the wicked.

All who come after them are to act according to the interpretation of the law in which the first ones were instructed, until the completion of the appointed years. According to the covenant that God confirmed with the first ones to atone for their sins, so shall he make atonement for them. After the completion of that appointed period, no one shall join himself to the house of Judah, but each man shall stand upon his watch. “The wall has been built; the decree is far removed.”

Throughout these years Belial shall be released against Israel, as God spoke through Isaiah: “Terror, pit, and snare are upon you, inhabitant of the land.” The interpretation concerns the three snares of Belial of which Levi son of Jacob spoke, by which he captures Israel while presenting them as three kinds of righteousness. The first is fornication, the second wealth, and the third defilement of the sanctuary. Whoever escapes one is caught by another, and whoever escapes that one is caught by the third.

Those who build the wall and plaster it with whitewash are those who follow the one who commands falsehood. He is the one concerning whom it was said, “Surely they pour out words.” They are caught twice in fornication: by taking two wives during their lifetime, although the foundation of creation is, “Male and female he created them,” and those who entered the ark went in “two by two.” Concerning a ruler it is written, “He shall not multiply wives for himself.”

David had not read in the sealed Book of the Law that was in the ark, for it had not been opened in Israel from the death of Eleazar and Joshua and the elders who worshiped Ashtoreth. It remained hidden and was not revealed until Zadok arose. The deeds of David were treated with mercy, apart from the blood of Uriah, and God left the judgment of them to him.

They also defile the sanctuary because they do not separate according to the law, and they lie with a woman during the flow of her impurity. They marry the daughter of a brother or the daughter of a sister, although Moses said, “You shall not approach your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kin.” The law of forbidden unions is written for males, and the same applies to females. If a brother’s daughter uncovers the nakedness of her father’s brother, she is near kin.

They also defile their holy spirit. With a tongue of blasphemy they open their mouths against the statutes of God’s covenant, saying, “They are not certain.” They speak abomination against them. They kindle a fire and set sparks aflame. Their webs are spiders’ webs and their eggs are vipers’ eggs. Whoever comes near them shall not be innocent. His house becomes liable to judgment unless he was compelled.

God observed their deeds from ancient times, and his anger burned against their schemes, for they are a people without understanding, a nation lacking counsel because there is no discernment in them. In former times Moses and Aaron stood by the prince of the lights, while Belial raised up Jannes and his brother in his scheme when Israel was first delivered.

At the end of the devastation of the land, those who moved the boundary arose and led Israel astray. The land became desolate because they spoke rebellion against the commandments of God given by Moses and against his holy anointed ones. They prophesied falsehood to turn Israel away from following God.

But God remembered the covenant of the first ones. He took from Aaron men of discernment and from Israel wise men, and he caused them to hear. They dug the well: “The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with the lawgiver.” The well is the law. Those who dug it are the exiles of Israel who went out from the land of Judah and sojourned in the land of Damascus. God called them all princes because they sought him, and their reputation was not turned aside by the mouth of one man.

The lawgiver is the interpreter of the law, concerning whom Isaiah said, “He brings forth a tool for his work.” The nobles of the people are those who came to dig the well with the statutes that the lawgiver ordained for them to walk in throughout the age of wickedness. Apart from these they shall obtain nothing until the one who teaches righteousness arises in the latter days.

All who were brought into the covenant shall not enter the sanctuary to kindle his altar in vain. They must act according to the exact interpretation of the law until the end of wickedness. They shall separate from the sons of destruction, from the wealth of wickedness defiled by vow or curse, from property belonging to the sanctuary, and from those who rob the poor of his people, making widows their spoil and murdering orphans.

They shall distinguish between clean and unclean and make known the difference between holy and profane. They shall observe the Sabbath according to its exact interpretation, and the appointed times and the day of fasting according to the command of those who entered the new covenant in the land of Damascus. They shall offer their sacred gifts according to their interpretation. Each shall love his brother as himself, strengthen the hand of the poor, the needy, and the stranger, and seek the welfare of his brother.

No one shall betray his near kin. They shall separate from fornication according to the law. Each shall reprove his brother according to the commandment and shall not bear a grudge from one day to the next. They shall separate from all impurity according to its laws, and no one shall defile his holy spirit, because God has separated them.

For all who walk in these things in perfect holiness, according to all the instruction, the covenant of God stands firm to preserve them for a thousand generations, as it is written: “He keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”

If they dwell in camps according to the custom of the land, marry wives, and beget children, they shall walk according to the law and according to the statute concerning the relationship between a man and his wife and between a father and his son.

Upon all who despise the commandments and statutes, when God brings visitation upon the land, the wilderness of the wicked shall return. When the two houses of Israel divided, Ephraim departed from Judah. Those who turned back were delivered to the sword, but those who held firm escaped to the land of the north.

It is written, “I will carry away Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun your images, beyond the tents of Damascus.” The books of the law are the tent of the king, as it is written, “I will raise up the fallen tent of David.” The king is the congregation. Kiyyun, the images, are the books of the prophets, whose words Israel despised. The star is the interpreter of the law who came to Damascus, as it is written, “A star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall arise from Israel.” The scepter is the prince of the whole congregation. When he arises, he shall destroy all the sons of Seth.

[The witnesses differ here.]

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd and against the man who is my companion,” says God. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.” Those who watch for him are the poor of the flock. These shall escape at the end of visitation, while the rest shall be delivered to the sword when the anointed one from Aaron and Israel comes. As at the first visitation, when he commanded through Ezekiel that a mark be set upon the foreheads of those who groaned and cried out, the remainder were delivered to the sword that avenges the covenant.

This shall also be the judgment of all who entered his covenant but did not hold firmly to these statutes. They shall be visited with destruction by the hand of Belial. This is the day of God’s visitation. The princes of Judah became like those who move the boundary; upon them he will pour wrath like water.

They entered the covenant of repentance, yet did not turn from the way of traitors. They acted wantonly in the ways of fornication and in the wealth of wickedness, in revenge and grudge-bearing, each hating his brother. Each betrayed his near kin. They joined themselves to sexual impurity, became strong for wealth and gain, did what was right in their own eyes, chose the stubbornness of their own hearts, did not separate from the people or from their sins, and cast off restraint with a high hand to walk in the ways of the wicked.

Concerning them God said, “Their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.” The serpents are the kings of the nations, their wine is their ways, and the head of the asps is the chief of the kings of Greece who came to execute vengeance upon them.

Those who built the wall and plastered it with whitewash did not understand these things. A man walking in wind, weighing storms, prophesied lies to them. Therefore the wrath of God burned against his whole congregation. Moses said to Israel, “It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess these nations, but because he loved your fathers and would keep the oath.”

So is the law for the exiles of Israel who turned from the way of the people. Because of God’s love for the first ones who awakened the people to follow him, he loved those who came after them. To them belongs the covenant of the fathers. But God hated and despised the builders of the wall, and his wrath burned against them and against all who walked after them. The same judgment shall come upon everyone who despises the commandments of God, forsakes them, and turns away in the stubbornness of his heart.

All the men who entered the new covenant in the land of Damascus but then turned, acted treacherously, and turned away from the spring of living waters shall not be counted in the council of the people, nor shall they be inscribed in its book, from the day the unique teacher was gathered in until the anointed one from Aaron and Israel arises.

The same law applies to everyone who enters the congregation of men of perfect holiness and then ceases to carry out the upright statutes. He is the man who melts in the furnace. When his deeds are revealed, he shall be expelled from the congregation as though he had never shared the lot of the disciples of God. According to his offense, the men who possess knowledge shall reprove him until the day he returns to stand in the assembly of the men of perfect holiness.

When his deeds are revealed before the congregation, no one shall associate with him in property or labor, for the holy ones of the Most High have cursed him. The same judgment applies to everyone who despises, whether among the earlier ones or those who came later, who set idols in their hearts and walked in the stubbornness of their hearts. They have no share in the house of the law. They shall be judged like their neighbors who turned back with the men of scoffing, because they spoke error against the statutes of righteousness and despised the covenant and the pledge of faith that they confirmed in the land of Damascus. This is the new covenant. Neither they nor their families shall have a share in the house of the law.

From the day the unique teacher was gathered in until all the men of war who walked with the man of lies are consumed shall be about forty years. At the end of these, the anger of God shall be kindled against Israel, as it is written: “There is no king, no prince, no judge, and none who reproves in righteousness.”

Those who turn from sin, keep the covenant of God, and support one another in the way of God—God has listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear God and esteem his name—shall be preserved until salvation and righteousness are revealed to those who fear God. Then they shall again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves him and one who does not serve him. He shows mercy to thousands of those who love him and to those who keep his commandments for a thousand generations.

Those from the house of Peleg who went out from the holy city trusted in God when Israel acted treacherously and polluted the sanctuary, and they returned to God. According to his spirit they shall be judged in the council of holiness.

All who broke through the boundary of the law among those who entered the covenant shall be cut off from the camp when the glory of God shines forth for Israel, together with all who act wickedly in Judah during the time of its testing.

But all who hold firmly to these statutes, who go out and come in according to the law, listen to the voice of the teacher, and confess before God, saying, “We and our fathers are guilty, because they walked contrary to the statutes of the covenant, and your judgments against us are true,” who do not lift their hand against his holy statutes, his righteous judgments, and the testimony of his truth, but accept correction by the former judgments through which the children of the unique one were judged, and who listen to the voice of the Teacher of Righteousness and do not reject the statutes of righteousness when they hear them—they shall rejoice and be glad, their hearts shall be strong, and they shall prevail against all the children of the world. God shall make atonement for them, and they shall see his salvation because they trusted in his holy name.

[Text missing]

No one shall swear by Aleph and Lamed, or by Aleph and Daleth, but only by the oath of the covenant and the curses of the covenant. He shall not invoke the law of Moses as a formula of oath. If he swears and transgresses, he profanes the Name. If he swears by the curses of the covenant, he shall do so before the judges. If he transgresses, he is guilty; he shall confess and make amends, but he shall not die.

Whoever enters the covenant, as an everlasting statute for all Israel, shall impose the oath of the covenant upon his sons who belong among those enrolled. This is the law throughout the whole age of wickedness for everyone who turns back from his corrupt way. On the day he speaks with the overseer of the many, they shall enroll him with the oath of the covenant that Moses established with Israel, to return to the law of Moses with all his heart and all his soul, according to everything revealed from the law that must be practiced throughout the age of wickedness.

No one shall make the statutes known to him until he stands before the overseer, lest he appear deceitfully simple when examined. When he accepts upon himself to return to the law of Moses with all his heart and all his soul, [Text missing].

[Several lines are missing.]

He shall confirm the covenant upon himself and with all Israel, to return to the law of Moses, for everything is exactly explained in it.

The interpretation of the appointed times, as a remembrance for Israel concerning all these things, is precisely explained in the Book of the Divisions of the Times according to their jubilees and weeks. On the day a man confirms upon himself that he will return to the law of Moses, the angel Mastema shall turn away from following him, if he fulfills his word. Therefore Abraham was circumcised on the day when he came to know.

Concerning what was said, “What has gone out from your lips you shall keep,” every binding oath by which a man obligates himself to perform a commandment of the law, even at the price of death, he shall not redeem. But an oath by which a woman obligates herself may be annulled according to the law spoken by Moses. No one shall annul an oath whose nature no one knows; it must be fulfilled. If it obligates her to transgress the covenant, it shall be annulled and not confirmed. The same law applies to her father.

Concerning offerings, no one shall vow anything for the altar under compulsion. The priests shall not take anything from Israel [Text missing]. “They hunt each man his brother with a net.” [Text missing]

No man shall destroy another through the laws of the nations so that he is put to death, for it is written, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people.”

If anyone who has entered the covenant brings an accusation against his neighbor that is not proven before witnesses, strikes him in fierce anger, or speaks against him to the elders in order to disgrace him, he is taking vengeance and bearing a grudge. It is written only of God, “He takes vengeance upon his adversaries and bears a grudge against his enemies.”

If a man keeps silent from day to day and then, in fierce anger, speaks against his neighbor in a matter that could bring death, his sin remains upon him because he did not fulfill the commandment of God: “You shall surely reprove your neighbor and not bear sin because of him.”

Concerning the oath for which it is said, “Your hand shall not support him,” if a man causes another to swear in the open field, not before the judges or at their command, his hand has supported him in wrongdoing.

If something is lost or stolen from a tent in a camp and the thief is unknown, its owner shall proclaim it under an oath of cursing. Whoever hears and knows but does not reveal it shall bear guilt.

Any repayment made for property whose owner is unknown shall be confessed to the priest and handed over, apart from the ram of the guilt offering. Likewise, anything lost and found whose owner is unknown shall be entrusted to the priests, because the finder does not know its proper legal disposition. If the owners are not found, they shall keep it in trust.

If a man acts treacherously against a law and his neighbor alone sees him, if the matter could bring death, the witness shall make it known in the offender’s presence to the overseer and establish it before him. The overseer shall write it down. If the man repeats the offense before another witness, that witness shall also report it. If he is caught a third time before another, his judgment is completed. If two witnesses testify concerning another offense and they are trustworthy, he shall be excluded from the purity. A single witness is sufficient only to exclude from the purity according to the statute.

No witness shall stand before the judges to put a man to death by his testimony if he has not completed his years to pass among those enrolled or if he does not fear God. No one who has deliberately transgressed a word of the commandment shall be accepted as a witness against his neighbor until he has become worthy through repentance.

This is the rule for the judges of the congregation: ten men chosen from the congregation—four from Levi and Aaron and six from Israel—learned in the Book of Study and in the foundations of the covenant, from twenty-five years old to sixty years old. No one sixty years old or older shall be appointed to judge the congregation, because through human unfaithfulness the days of man were shortened, and when the anger of God burned against the inhabitants of the earth, he caused their understanding to depart before they completed their days.

Concerning purification in water: no one shall wash in dirty water or in water insufficient to cover a man. No one shall purify himself in water contained in a vessel. Any rock pool that does not contain enough water for immersion, if an unclean person touches it, its water becomes unclean like water in a vessel.

Concerning the Sabbath, to keep it according to its law: no one shall do work on the sixth day from the time when the disk of the sun begins to withdraw from the gate, for it is written, “Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it.” On the Sabbath no one shall speak a foolish or empty word. No one shall demand repayment of a debt from his neighbor. No one shall judge matters of wealth or gain. No one shall speak about work or labor to be done on the following morning.

No one shall walk in the field to conduct his affairs on the Sabbath. No one shall walk outside his city more than one thousand cubits. No one shall eat on the Sabbath except what was prepared beforehand or what is found ready in the field. No one shall eat or drink anything that was not already within the camp. If he is on a journey and goes down to wash, he may drink where he stands, but he shall not draw water into a vessel.

No one shall send a foreigner to conduct his affairs on the Sabbath. No one shall put on garments that are filthy or were brought by a gentile unless they have been washed in water or rubbed with incense. No one shall make a voluntary partnership or exchange on the Sabbath.

No one shall follow an animal to pasture it outside his city more than two thousand cubits. He shall not raise his hand to strike it with his fist. If it is stubborn, he shall not drive it out of his house. No one shall carry anything from a house to the outside or from the outside into a house. If he is in a gate, he shall neither carry anything out of it nor bring anything into it.

No one shall open a sealed vessel on the Sabbath. No one shall carry spices upon himself while going out or coming in. No one shall move stone or earth within a house on the Sabbath. A nurse shall not carry a nursing child while going out or coming in on the Sabbath. No one shall press or provoke his male servant, female servant, or hired worker on the Sabbath.

No one shall assist an animal in giving birth on the Sabbath. If an animal falls into a cistern or pit, he shall not lift it out on the Sabbath. No one shall spend the Sabbath near gentiles. No one shall profane the Sabbath for wealth or gain.

If any person falls into a gathering of water or into a pit, he shall not be brought up by ladder, rope, or instrument. No one shall offer anything upon the altar on the Sabbath except the Sabbath burnt offering, for it is written, “Guard my Sabbaths.”

No one shall send to the altar a burnt offering, grain offering, incense, or wood through the hand of a man defiled by any impurity, allowing him to defile the altar. It is written, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the prayer of the righteous is like an acceptable offering.”

Everyone who enters the house of assembly shall not enter while unclean without washing. When the trumpets of the congregation sound, he shall wash either before or afterward, and they shall not disturb the whole service. The Sabbath is holy.

No man shall lie with a woman in the city of the sanctuary, lest they defile the city of the sanctuary by their impurity.

Any man over whom the spirits of Belial gain dominion so that he speaks rebellion shall be judged according to the law concerning the necromancer and the familiar spirit. But one who wanders in error and profanes the Sabbath or appointed times shall not be put to death. The sons of men shall watch him to see whether he is healed. They shall watch him for seven years, and afterward he may come into the congregation.

No one shall stretch out his hand to shed the blood of a gentile for wealth or gain. He shall not take anything from their property, lest they blaspheme, except by the counsel of the congregation of Israel. No one shall sell a clean animal or bird to gentiles, lest they sacrifice it. He shall not sell them produce from his threshing floor or winepress, nor shall he sell them his male or female servant who entered with him into the covenant of Abraham.

No one shall make himself abominable with any living creature or creeping thing by eating their larvae, or any living creature that moves in water. Fish shall not be eaten unless they were split open alive and their blood poured out. Locusts of every kind shall be put alive into fire or water, for this is the manner of their creation.

All wood, stones, or dust polluted by human impurity become unclean according to that impurity, and whoever touches them becomes unclean. Every tool, nail, or fixed object in a house with a dead body becomes unclean with the impurity of a workman’s tool.

This is the rule for dwelling in the cities of Israel according to these judgments, to separate between clean and unclean and to make known the difference between holy and profane. These are the statutes by which the whole nation shall be instructed to walk according to the law at every time. In this law all the seed of Israel shall walk and shall not be cursed.

This is the rule for the assembly of the camps in the end of wickedness until the anointed one from Aaron and Israel arises. There shall be at least ten men, arranged by thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Wherever there are ten, a priest learned in the Book of Study shall not be absent. According to his word they shall all be governed. If he is not skilled in all these matters but a Levite is skilled, the lot shall determine that all who enter the camp shall go out and come in according to the Levite’s word.

When there is a legal decision concerning a case of skin disease, the priest shall come and stand in the camp, and the overseer shall instruct him in the interpretation of the law. Even if the priest lacks understanding, the overseer shall instruct him, for to the priests belongs the judgment.

This is the rule of the overseer of the camp. He shall instruct the many in the works of God and make them understand his mighty wonders. He shall recount before them the events of eternity according to the law of God. He shall have compassion on them as a father on his children and bear with all their rebellion. Like a shepherd with his flock, he shall loosen the bonds of their affliction, so that no one is oppressed or crushed in his congregation.

Everyone who joins his congregation he shall examine according to his deeds, understanding, strength, ability, and property. They shall record him in his place according to his assigned lot in the camp. No one among the members of the camp shall have authority to bring a man into the congregation without the word of the overseer of the camp.

No one who has entered the covenant shall trade directly with outsiders without the overseer’s knowledge. No one shall make a purchase or sale unless he has spoken with the overseer of the camp. [Text missing]

[Several lines are damaged or missing.]

This is the rule for the settlement of all the camps. They shall all be enrolled by name: the priests first, the Levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth. They shall be recorded by name in that order. In that order they shall sit, and in that order they shall ask concerning every matter.

The priest who presides over the many shall be from thirty to sixty years old, learned in the Book of Study and in all the laws of the Torah, to declare them according to their rulings. The overseer who is over all the camps shall be from thirty to fifty years old, experienced in every counsel of men and in every language. According to his word those who enter the congregation shall be admitted, each to his assigned place. Every matter involving dispute or legal claim shall be spoken to the overseer.

This is the rule of the many for providing all their needs. Each month they shall give their contribution into the hands of the overseer and the judges. From it they shall give to the poor and strengthen the hand of the needy, the aged, the wandering man, the one taken captive by a foreign people, and the virgin who has no one seeking her welfare. [Text missing]

This is the interpretation of the settlement [Text missing].

This is the interpretation of the judgments [Text missing].

Aaron and Israel [Text missing], and he will forgive our sins [Text missing].

[The ending is damaged and incomplete.]