May God the Wise Lord be glorified! . . .

Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good. . . .

I confess myself a worshipper of God, a follower of the messenger Zarathushtra, one who hates the devils and obeys the laws of God;

For devotion, prayer, thanksgiving, and glorification unto God, the holy and master of holiness. . . .

For God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, all-hearing with a thousand ears, all-seeing with ten thousand eyes, invoked by His own name, and for the Pleasant Pasture;

Be thanksgiving, with devotion, prayer, thanksgiving, and glorification.

Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness. . . .

I.

1 God the Wise Lord spoke unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: "Verily, My name of the Friend, the lord of wide pastures, O Spitama, is worthy of remembrance and of prayer, as are all My names.

2 "The ruffian who lies to God the Friend brings death unto the whole country, injuring as much the faithful world as a hundred evil-doers could do. Break not the contract, O Spitama, neither the one that thou hadst entered into with one of the unfaithful, nor the one that thou hadst entered into with one of the faithful who is one of thy own faith. For God the Friend stands witness for both the faithful and the unfaithful.

3 "God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, gives swiftness to the horses of those who lie not to the Friend.

"The Fire, a sign of God, gives the straightest way to those who lie not to the Friend.

"The good, strong, beneficent souls of the faithful, by God's leave, give a virtuous offspring to those who lie not to the Friend.

4 "For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard, in thanks for God the Friend, lord of wide pastures.

"We offer up libations to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, who gives a happy dwelling and a good dwelling to the Aryan nations.

5 "May He come to us for help! May He come to us for ease! May He come to us for joy! May He come to us for mercy! May He come to us for health! May He come to us for victory! May He come to us for good conscience! May He come to us for bliss! He, the awful and overpowering, worthy of worship and prayer, not to be deceived anywhere in the whole of the material world, God the Friend, lord of wide pastures.

6 "I will offer up libations unto Him, the strong, the powerful, most beneficent to the creatures: I will apply unto Him with charity and prayers: I will offer up a sacrifice worth being heard unto Him, God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, with the Haoma-drink and meat, with the sacred twigs, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy prayers, with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words.

"Yenghe hatam: All those beings of whom God the Wise Lord knows the goodness. . . .

II.

7 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, all-hearing with a thousand ears, well-shapen in His works, all-seeing with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake;

8 "To Whom the chiefs of nations offer up sacrifices, as they go to the field, against havocking hosts, against enemies coming in battle array, in the strife of conflicting nations.

9 "On whichever side He has been worshipped first in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart, to that side turns God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, with the fiend-smiting wind, with the cursing thought of the wise.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

III.

10 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

11 "Whom the horsemen call upon on the back of their horses, begging swiftness for their teams, health for their own bodies, and that they may watch with full success those who hate them, smite down their foes, and destroy at one stroke their adversaries, their enemies, and those who hate them.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

IV.

12 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

13 "Whose dawn light, His sign, first of the heavenly things reaches over the Hara before the undying, swift-horsed sun; foremost in a golden array, it takes hold of the beautiful summits, and from thence God looks over the abode of the Aryans with a beneficent eye.

14 "Where the valiant chiefs draw up their many troops in array; where the high mountains, rich in pastures and waters, yield plenty to the cattle; where the deep lakes, with salt waters, stand; where wide-flowing rivers swell and hurry towards Ishkata and Pouruta, Mouru and Haroyu, the Gava-Sughdha and Khvairizem;

15 "On Arezahi and Savahi, on Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu, on Vourubareshti and Vouruzareshti, on this bright region of Khvaniratha, the abode of cattle, the dwelling of cattle, God the Friend looks with a health-bringing eye;

16 "He Who, unseen, is present in all the regions, and brings glory; He Who, unseen, is present in all the regions, and brings sovereignty; and increases strength for victory to those who, with a pious intent, holily offer Him libations.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

V.

17 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Unto Whom nobody must lie, neither the master of a house, nor the lord of a borough, nor the lord of a town, nor the lord of a province.

18 "If the master of a house lies unto Him, or the lord of a borough, or the lord of a town, or the lord of a province, then comes God the Friend, angry and offended, and He breaks asunder the house, the borough, the town, the province; and the masters of the houses, the lords of the boroughs, the lords of the towns, the lords of the provinces, and the foremost men of the provinces.

19 "On whatever side there is one who has lied unto the Friend, on that side He stands forth, angry and offended, and His wrath is slow to relent.

20 "Those who lie unto the Friend, however swift they may be running, cannot overtake; riding, cannot outride; driving, cannot outdrive. The spear that the foe of the Friend flings, darts backwards, for the number of the evil words that the foe of the Friend works out.

21 "And even though the spear be flung well, even though it reach the body, it makes no wound, for the number of the evil words that the foe of the Friend works out. The wind drives away the spear that the foe of the Friend flings, for the number of the evil words that the foe of the Friend works out.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

VI.

22 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Who takes out of distress the man who has not lied unto Him, who takes him out of death.

23 "Take us out of distress, take us out of distresses, O God the Friend, as we have not lied unto Thee. Thou bringest down terror upon the bodies of the men who lie unto the Friend; Thou takest away the strength from their arms, being angry and all-powerful; Thou takest the swiftness from their feet, the eyesight from their eyes, the hearing from their ears.

24 "Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of the flying arrow reaches that man to whom God the Friend comes for help with all the strength of his soul, He, the all-watching, the powerful, all-seeing, undeceivable.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

VII.

25 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Who is lordly, deep, strong, and weal-giving; a chief in assemblies, pleased with prayers, high, holily clever, the revealer of the Word, mighty in power;

26 "Who breaks the power of the devils, and is most severe in exacting penalties; the punisher of the men who lie unto the Friend, the withstander of the witches; who, when not deceived, establisheth nations in supreme strength; who, when not deceived, establisheth nations in supreme victory;

27 "Who confounds the ways of the nation that delights in havoc, who turns away their Glory, takes away their strength for victory, blows them away helpless, and delivers them unto ten thousand strokes; He, the all-watching, the powerful, all-seeing, undeceivable.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

VIII.

28 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Who upholds the columns of the lofty house and makes its pillars solid; who gives herds of oxen and male children to that house in which He has been satisfied; He breaks to pieces those in which He has been offended.

29 "Thou, O God the Friend, art both a Warner and a Giver of good to nations; Thou, O God, art both a Warner and a Giver of good to men; Thou, O God, keepest in Thy hands both peace and tribulation for nations.

30 "Thou makest houses large, beautiful with wives, beautiful with chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high above their groundwork Thou makest that house lofty, beautiful with wives, beautiful with chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high above its groundwork, of which the master, pious and holding libations in his hand, offers Thee a sacrifice, in which Thou art invoked by Thy name and with the proper words.

31 "With a sacrifice, in which Thou art invoked by Thy name, with the proper words will I offer Thee libations, O powerful God the Friend!

"With a sacrifice, in which Thou art invoked by Thy name, with the proper words will I offer Thee libations, O most beneficent God!

"With a sacrifice, in which Thou art invoked by Thy name, with the proper words will I offer Thee libations, O Thou undeceivable God!

32 "Listen unto our sacrifice, O God! Be pleased with our sacrifice, O God! Be near to our sacrifice! Accept our libations! Accept them as they have been consecrated! Gather them together with love and lay them in the House of Song!

33 "Grant us these boons which we beg of Thee, O powerful God, in accordance with the words of revelation, namely, riches, strength, and victory, good conscience and bliss, good fame and a good soul; wisdom and the knowledge that gives happiness; the victorious strength given by God, the crushing Ascendant of Righteousness, and conversation with God on the Holy Word.

34 "Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our foes; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all the malice of devils and men, of the sorcerers and witches, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

IX.

35 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Victory-making, army-governing, endowed with a thousand senses; power-wielding, power-possessing, and all-knowing;

36 "Who sets the battle a-going, who stands against armies in battle, who, standing against armies in battle, breaks asunder the lines arrayed. The wings of the columns gone to battle shake, and He throws terror upon the centre of the havocking host.

37 "He can bring and does bring down upon them distress and fear; He throws down the heads of those who lie unto the Friend, He takes off the heads of those who lie unto the Friend.

38 "Sad is the abode, unpeopled with children, where abide men who lie unto the Friend, and, verily, the fiendish killer of faithful men. The grazing cow goes a sad straying way, driven along the vales of those who lie unto the Friend: they stand on the road, letting tears run over their chins.

39 "Their falcon-feathered arrows, shot from the string of the well-bent bow, fly towards the mark, and hit it not, as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

"Their spears, well whetted and sharp, their long spears fly from their hands towards the mark, and hit it not, as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

40 "Their swords, well thrust and striking at the heads of men, hit not the mark, as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

"Their clubs, well falling and striking at the heads of men, hit not the mark, as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

41 "God strikes fear into them; the angel of Justice strikes a counter-fear into them; the holy angel of Obedience blows them away from every side towards the two angels who maintain the world. They make the ranks of the army melt away, as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

42 "They cry unto God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, saying: 'O God, thou Friend, lord of wide pastures! here are our fiery horses taking us away, as they flee from Thee; here are our sturdy arms cut to pieces by the sword, O God!'

43 "And then God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, throws them to the ground, killing their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads; as God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, is angry and offended.

"For the brightness and glory of the Friend, I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard. . . .

X.

44 "We give thanks to God the Friend, lord of wide pastures, . . . sleepless, and ever awake;

"Whose dominion, wide as the earth, extends over the material world, large, unconfined, and bright, a far-and-wide-extending dominion.

45 "Whose eight angels sit as watchers for Him, on all the heights, at all the watching-places, observing the man who lies unto the Friend, looking at those, remembering those who have lied unto the Friend, but guarding the ways of those whose life is sought by