0 May the Wise Lord be rejoiced! ....

Holiness is the best of all good ....

I confess myself a worshipper of the Wise Lord, a follower of Zarathustra, one who renounces the false gods and obeys the laws of God;

For devotion, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto God, the Holy and Master of holiness ....

Unto the holy, strong angel Sraosha, who is faithful to the Word, a mighty-speared servant of God,

Be honour, with devotion, prayer, propitiation, and glorification, for the sake of God.

The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

I

1 In the name of God we remember the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting angel Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness.

Good prayer, excellent prayer to the worlds, O Zarathustra!

2 This it is that takes away the friendship of the fiend and fiends, of the he-fiend and of the she-fiend; it turns away in giddiness their eyes, minds, ears, hands, feet, mouths, and tongues; as good prayer, without deceit and without harm, is Manly Courage and turns away the Lie.

3 The holy Sraosha, the best protector of the poor, is fiend-smiting; he is the best smiter of the Lie.

The faithful one who pronounces most words of blessing is the most victorious in victory; the Holy Word takes best the unseen Lie away. The prayer of the Will of the Lord is the best fiend-smiter among all prayers; the word of truth is the fighter that is the best of all fiend-smiters.

The Law of the worshippers of the Wise Lord is the truest giver of all the good things, of all those that are the offspring of the good principle; and so is the Law of Zarathustra.

4 And he who should pronounce that word, O Zarathustra! either a man or a woman, with a mind all intent on holiness, with words all intent on holiness, with deeds all intent on holiness, when he is in fear either of high waters or of the darkness of a rainy night;

Or at the fords of a river, or at the branching-off of roads;

Or in the meeting together of the faithful, or the rushing together of the worshippers of the demons;

5 Whether on the road or in the law he has to fear, not in that day nor in that night shall the tormenting fiend, who wants to torment him, prevail to throw upon him the look of his evil eye, and the malice of the thief who carries off cattle shall not reach him.

6 Pronounce then that word, O Zarathustra! that word to be spoken when thou fallest upon the idolaters and thieves and demons rushing together. Then the malice of the wicked worshippers of the demons, of the sorcerers and their followers, will be affrighted and rush away. Down are the demons! Down are the demon-worshippers, and they take back their mouths from biting!

7 And therefore we take around us the holy-natured angel Sraosha, the holy, the fiend-smiter, as one does with shepherds' dogs; therefore we remember the holy-natured Sraosha, the holy, the fiend-smiter, with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

8 For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious power, for his offering worship unto God, I will offer devotion worth being heard, to God alone. I will remember the holy Sraosha, the great angel of Right Devotion, and the angel Nairyo-sangha, the tall-formed.

So may the holy Sraosha, the fiend-smiter, come to us for help, by God's leave!

9 We worship the great Master, the Wise Lord, who is supreme in holiness, who is the foremost to do deeds of holiness.

We honour all the words of Zarathustra, and all the good deeds, those done and those to be done.

All those beings of whom the Wise Lord ....

II

10 In the name of God we remember the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting angel Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;

Who strikes the evil-doing man, who strikes the evil-doing woman; who smites the fiendish Lie, and is most strong and world-destroying; who maintains and looks over all this moving world;

11 Who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation of the Lord; who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains the creation of the Lord; who protects all the material world with his club uplifted, from the hour when the sun is down;

12 Who never more did enjoy sleep from the time when the two spirits made the world, namely, the good Spirit and the evil One; who every day, every night, fights with the demons of impurity.

13 He bows not for fear and fright before the demons: before him all the demons bow for fear and fright reluctantly, and rush away to darkness.

For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious power ...

III

14 The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

In the name of God we remember the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting angel Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;

Who with peace and friendship watches the Lie and the most beneficent Spirit: so that the holy angels may go along the seven regions of the earth; who is the teacher of the Law; he himself was taught it by God, the Holy One.

For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious power ....

IV

15 The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

In the name of God we remember the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting angel Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;

Whom the holy Wise Lord has created to withstand Wrath, the fiend of the wounding spear; we give thanks for Peace, whose breath is friendly, and for the two withstanders of sin and guilt,

16 The friends of the holy Sraosha;

The friends of the angel of Truth;

The friends of the good Law of the worshippers of the Wise Lord;

The friends of the angel of Right Giving, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase, who makes the world prosper;

The friends of the angel of Righteous Fortune;

The friends of the good Wisdom;

The friends of the most right Wisdom;

17 The friends of all the angels;

The friends of the Holy Word;

The friends of the fiend-destroying Law;

The friends of the long-traditional teaching;

The friends of the holy angels;

The friends of ourselves, the benefactors, the two-footed part of the holy creation;

The friends of all the beings of the holy world.

For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious power ....

V

18 The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

In the name of God we remember the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting angel Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;

The first, the next, the middle, and the highest; with the first devotion, with the next, with the middle, and with the highest. We remember all the moments of the holy and strong Sraosha, who is faithful to the Word;

19 The strong Sraosha, of the manly courage, the warrior of the strong arms, who breaks the skulls of the demons; who smites with heavy blows and is strong to smite; the holy Sraosha, who smites

with heavy blows; we give thanks for the crushing ascendancy of both the holy Sraosha and the angel of Right Giving.

20 We give thanks for all the houses protected by Sraosha, where the holy angel is dear and kindly treated and satisfied, as well as the faithful man, rich in good thoughts, rich in good words, rich in good deeds.

21 In the name of God we remember the holy Sraosha;

We remember the angel of Truth, the most true;

We remember the Friend, Lord of wide pastures, as a name of God;

We remember the holy wind, a sign of God;

We remember the good Law of the worshippers of the Wise Lord;

We remember the angel of Right Giving, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase, who makes the world prosper;

We remember the angel of Righteous Fortune;

We remember the good Wisdom;

We remember the most right Wisdom;

We remember all the angels;

22 We remember the Holy Word;

We remember the fiend-destroying Law;

We remember the long-traditional teaching;

We remember the holy angels;

We remember ourselves, the benefactors, the two-footed part of the holy creation;

We remember all the beings of the holy world.

For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious power ....

23 The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

I bless the devotion and prayer, the strength and vigour of the holy, strong Sraosha, who is faithful to the Word, a mighty-speared servant of God.

Give unto that man brightness and glory .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones!