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 awesome, overpowering guardian angels of the faithful; unto the guardian angels of the men of the primitive law; unto the guardian angels of the next-of-kin,

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

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

I

1 The Wise Lord spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying: "Do thou proclaim, O pure Zarathustra! the vigour and strength, the glory, the help and the joy that are in the guardian angels of the faithful, the awesome and overpowering guardian angels; do thou tell how they come to help, how they bring assistance, by My command, the awesome guardian angels of the faithful.

2 "By My command, and through their brightness and glory and service, O Zarathustra! I maintain that sky, there above, shining and seen afar, and encompassing this earth all around.

3 "It looks like a palace, that stands built of a heavenly substance, firmly established, with ends that lie afar, shining in its body of ruby over the three-thirds of the earth; it is like a garment inlaid with stars, made of a heavenly substance, that the Wise Lord puts on, and on no side can the eye perceive the end of it.

4 "By My command, and through their brightness and glory and service, O Zarathustra! I maintain the mighty river of pure waters, the wide-expanding and health-giving, which hates the evil ones and obeys the laws of God, which is a worthy sign of God in the material world; the life-increasing and holy, the flocks-increasing and holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy, the country-increasing and holy;

5 "Which makes the seed of all males pure, which makes the womb of all females pure for bringing forth, which makes all females bring forth in safety, which puts milk in the breasts of all females in the right measure and the right quality;

6 "The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole of all the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully from the height Hukairya down to the sea Vouru-Kasha.

7 "All the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over, when it runs down there, when it streams down there, the river that has a thousand cells and a thousand channels; the extent of each of those cells, of each of those channels, is as much as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse.

8 "From this river of Mine alone flow all the waters that spread all over the seven regions; this river of Mine alone goes on bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of Mine purifies the seed in males, the womb in females, the milk in females' breasts.

9 "By My command, and through their brightness and glory and service, O Zarathustra! I maintain the wide earth made by God, the large and broad earth, that bears so much that is fine, that bears all the bodily world, the live and the dead, and the high mountains, rich in pastures and waters;

10 "Upon which run the many streams and rivers; upon which the many kinds of plants grow up from the ground, to nourish animals and men, to nourish the Aryan nations, to nourish the five kinds of animals, and to help the faithful.

11 "By My command, and through their brightness and glory and service, O Zarathustra! I maintain in the womb the child that has been conceived, so that it does not die from the assaults of the demon of destruction, and I develop in it the bones, the hair, the entrails, the feet, and the sexual organs.

12 "Had I not appointed the awesome guardian angels of the faithful to serve, those animals and men of Mine, of which there are such excellent kinds, would not subsist; strength would belong to the Lie, the dominion would belong to the Lie, the material world would belong to the Lie.

13 "Between the earth and the sky the immaterial creatures would be harassed by the Lie; between the earth and the sky the immaterial creatures would be smitten by the Lie; and never afterwards would Satan give way to the blows of the Holy Spirit.

14 "By My command, and through their brightness and glory, the waters run and flow forward from the never-failing springs; through their brightness and glory the plants grow up from the earth, by the never-failing springs; through their brightness and glory the winds blow, driving down the clouds towards the never-failing springs.

15 "Through their brightness and glory the females conceive offspring; through their brightness and glory they bring forth in safety; it is through their brightness and glory when they become blessed with children.

16 "Through their brightness and glory a man is born who is a chief in assemblies and meetings, who listens well to the holy words, whom Wisdom holds dear, and who returns a victor from discussions with Gaotema, the heretic.

"Through their brightness and glory the sun goes his way; through their brightness and glory the moon goes her way; through their brightness and glory the stars go their way.

17 "In fearful battles they are the wisest for help, the guardian angels of the faithful.

"The most powerful amongst the guardian angels of the faithful, O Spitama! are those of the men of the primitive law or those of the benefactors not yet born, who are to restore the world. Of the others, the guardian angels of the living faithful are more powerful, O Zarathustra! than those of the dead, O Spitama!

18 "And the man who in life shall treat the guardian angels of the faithful well, will become a ruler of the country with full power, and a chief most strong; so shall any man of you become, who shall honour the covenant of the Friend, Lord of wide pastures, and the angel of Right Giving, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase.

19 "Thus do I proclaim unto thee, O pure Spitama! the vigour and strength, the glory, the help, and the joy that are in the awesome and overpowering guardian angels; and how they come to help, how they bring assistance, by My command, the awesome guardian angels of the faithful."

II

20 The Wise Lord spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying: "If in this material world, O Spitama Zarathustra! thou happenest to come upon frightful roads, full of dangers and fears, O Zarathustra! and thou fearest for thyself, then do thou recite these words, then proclaim these fiend-smiting words, O Zarathustra!

21 "'I praise God, I invoke God, I meditate upon God, and we give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful. We honour the guardian angels of the masters of the houses, those of the lords of the boroughs, those of the lords of the towns, those of the lords of the countries, those of the chiefs of the priestly order; the guardian angels of those that are, of those that have been, of those that will be; all the guardian angels of all nations, and most friendly the guardian angels of the friendly nations;

22 "'Who, by God's command, maintain the sky, who maintain the waters, who maintain the earth, who maintain the cattle, who maintain in the womb the child that has been conceived, so that it does not die from the assaults of the demon of destruction, and develop in it the bones, the hair, the entrails, the feet, and the sexual organs;

23 "'Who are much-bringing, who move with awesomeness, well-moving, swiftly moving, quickly moving; who are to be remembered in the conquest of good, in fights against foes, in battles;

24 "'Who, by God's leave, give victory to the one who calls upon God, who give boons to the one who loves God, who give health to the sick man, who give good Glory to the faithful man that brings his offerings and calls upon God with devotion and words of propitiation;

25 "'Who turn to that side where are faithful men, most devoted to holiness, and where is the greatest piety, where the faithful man is rejoiced and where the faithful man is not ill-treated.'"

III

26 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who are the mightiest of drivers, the lightest of those driving forwards, the slowest of the retiring, the safest of all bridges, the least-erring of all weapons and arms, and who never turn their backs.

27 At once, wherever they come, we honour them, the good ones, the excellent ones, the good, the strong, the beneficent guardian angels of the faithful. They are to be remembered when the bundles of twigs are tied; they are to be remembered in fights against foes, in battles, and there where gallant men strive to conquer foes.

28 The Wise Lord appointed them for service, when He fixed the sky and the waters and the earth and the plants; when the Holy Spirit fixed the sky, when He fixed the waters, when the earth, when the cattle, when the plants, when the child conceived in the womb, so that it should not die from the assaults of the demon of destruction, and developed in it the bones, the hair, the entrails, the feet, and the sexual organs.

29 The Holy Spirit maintained the sky, and they sustained it from below, by His command, they, the strong guardian angels, who sit in silence, gazing with sharp looks; whose eyes and ears are powerful, who bring long joy, high and high-girded; well-moving and moving afar, loud-snorting, possessing riches and a high renown.

IV

30 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful; whose friendship is good, and who know how to benefit; whose friendship lasts long; who like to stay in the abode where they are not harmed by its dwellers; who are good, beautiful afar, health-giving, of high renown, conquering in battle, and who never do harm first.

V

31 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful; whose will is dreadful unto those who vex them; powerfully working and most beneficent; who in battle break the dread arms of their foes and haters.

VI

32 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful; liberal, valiant, and full of strength, not to be seized by thought, welfare-giving, kind, and health-giving, following with the remedies of Righteous Fortune, as far as the earth extends, as the rivers stretch, as the sun rises.

VII

33 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who gallantly and bravely fight, causing havoc, wounding, breaking to pieces all the malice of the malicious, of demons and men, and smiting powerfully in battle, at God's will and command.

34 You kindly deliver the Victory made by God, and the crushing ascendancy, most beneficently, to those countries where you, the good ones, unharmed and rejoiced, unoppressed and unoffended, have been held in honour, and proceed the way of God's wish.

VIII

35 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, of high renown, smiting in battle, most strong, shield-bearing and harmless to those who are true, whom both the pursuing and the fleeing invoke for help: the pursuer asks for a swift race, and for a swift race does the fleer ask;

36 Who turn to that side where are faithful men, most devoted to holiness, and where is the greatest piety, where the faithful man is rejoiced, and where the faithful man is not ill-treated.

IX

37 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who form many battalions, girded with weapons, lifting up spears, and full of sheen; who in fearful battles come rushing along where the gallant heroes go and assail the enemies.

38 There you destroy the victorious strength of the Turanian enemies; there you destroy the malice of the Turanian enemies; through you the chiefs are of high intellect and most successful; they, the gallant heroes, the gallant benefactors, the gallant conquerors of the offspring of the enemy chiefs of myriads, who wound with stones.

X

39 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who rout the two wings of an army standing in battle array, who make the centre swerve, and swiftly pursue onwards, to help the faithful and to distress the doers of evil deeds.

XI

40 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful; awesome, overpowering, and victorious, smiting in battle, sorely wounding, blowing away the foes, moving along to and fro, of good renown, fair of body, godly of soul, and holy; who, by God's leave, give victory to the one who calls upon God, who give boons to the one who loves God, who give health to the sick man;

41 Who give good glory to him who honours them in righteousness, as that man did, the holy Zarathustra, the chief of the material world, the head of the two-footed race, in whatever struggle he had to enter, in whatever distress he did fear;

42 Who, when well remembered, enjoy bliss in the heavens; who come forward from the heavens, who are the chiefs of that sky above, possessing the well-shapen Strength, the Victory made by God, the crushing ascendancy, and Welfare, the wealth-bringing, boon-bringing, holy, well fed, worthy of honour in the perfection of holiness.

43 They shed Satavaesa between the earth and the sky, him to whom the waters belong, who listens to appeals and makes the waters flow and the plants grow up, to nourish animals and men, to nourish the Aryan nations, to nourish the five kinds of animals, and to help the faithful.

44 Satavaesa comes down and flows between the earth and the sky, he to whom the waters belong, who listens to appeals and makes the waters and the plants grow up, fair, radiant, and full of light, to nourish animals and men, to nourish the Aryan nations, to nourish the five kinds of animals, and to help the faithful.

XII

45 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful; with helms of brass, with weapons of brass, with armour of brass; who struggle in the fights for victory in garments of light, arraying the battles and bringing them forwards, to kill thousands of demons.

When the wind blows from behind them and brings their breath unto men,

46 Then men know where blows the breath of victory: and they pay pious homage unto God, who sent the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, with their hearts prepared and their arms uplifted.

47 Whichever side they have been first honoured in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart, to that side turn the awesome guardian angels of the faithful, along with the angel of the Covenant and the angel of Truth, and the awesome cursing thought of the wise and the victorious wind.

48 And those nations are smitten at one stroke by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by their thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads, against which turn the awesome guardian angels of the faithful, along with the angel of the Covenant and the angel of Truth, and the awesome cursing thought of the wise and the victorious wind.

XIII

49 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who come and go through the borough at the time of the last ten days of the year; they go along there for ten nights, asking thus:

50 "Who will praise us? Who will give charity in our name? Who will meditate upon us? Who will bless us? Who will receive us with meat and clothes in his hand and with a prayer worthy of bliss? Of which of us will the name be taken for remembrance? Of which of you will the soul be remembered by you with charity? To whom will this gift of ours be given, that he may have never-failing food for ever and ever?"

51 And the man who gives charity for them, with meat and clothes in his hand, with a prayer worthy of bliss, the awesome guardian angels of the faithful, satisfied, unharmed, and unoffended, bless thus:

52 "May there be in this house flocks of animals and men! May there be a swift horse and a solid chariot! May there be a man who knows how to praise God and rule in an assembly, who will give charity in our name with meat and clothes in his hand, and with a prayer worthy of bliss."

XIV

53 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who show beautiful paths to the waters, made by the Wise Lord, which had stood before for a long time in the same place without flowing.

54 And now they flow along the path made by the Wise Lord, along the way made by God, the watery way appointed to them, at the wish of the Wise Lord, at the wish of the holy angels.

XV

55 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who show a beautiful growth to the fertile plants, which had stood before for a long time in the same place without growing:

56 And now they grow up along the path made by the Wise Lord, along the way made by God, in the time appointed to them, at the wish of the Wise Lord, at the wish of the holy angels.

XVI

57 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who showed their paths to the stars, the moon, the sun, and the endless lights, that had stood before for a long time in the same place, without moving forwards, through the oppression and the assaults of the demons.

58 And now they move around in their far-revolving circle for ever, till they come to the time of the good restoration of the world.

XVII

59 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who watch over the bright sea Vouru-Kasha, to the number of ninety thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.

XVIII

60 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who watch over the stars of the Seven Bears, to the number of ninety thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.

XIX

61 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who watch over the body of Keresaspa, the son of Sama, the club-bearer with plaited hair, to the number of ninety thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.

XX

62 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who watch over the righteous descendants of the holy Zarathustra, to the number of ninety thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.

XXI

63 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who fight at the right hand of the reigning lord, if he rejoices the faithful and if the awesome guardian angels of the faithful are not hurt by him, if they are rejoiced by him, unharmed and unoffended.

XXII

64 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who are greater, who are stronger, who are swifter, who are more powerful, who are more victorious, who are more healing, who are more effective than can be expressed by words; who run by tens of thousands into the midst of the assemblies.

65 And when the waters come up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathustra! along with the Glory made by the Wise Lord, then forwards come the awesome guardian angels of the faithful, many and many hundreds, many and many thousands, many and many tens of thousands,

66 Seeking water for their own kindred, for their own borough, for their own town, for their own country, and saying thus: "May our own country have a good store and full joy!"

67 They fight in the battles that are fought in their own place and land, each according to the place and house where he dwelt of yore: they look like a gallant warrior who, girded up and watchful, fights for the hoard he has treasured up.

68 And those of them who win bring waters to their own kindred, to their own borough, to their own town, to their own country, saying thus: "May my country grow and increase!"

69 And when the all-powerful sovereign of a country has been surprised by his foes and haters, he calls upon God for help, and the awesome guardian angels of the faithful are sent.

70 And they come to his help, by God's leave, if they have not been hurt by him, if they have been rejoiced by him, if they have not been harmed nor offended, the awesome guardian angels of the faithful: they come flying unto him, it seems as if they were well-winged birds.

71 They come in as a weapon and as a shield, to keep him behind and to keep him in front, from the unseen Lie, from the female fiend, from the evil-doer bent on mischief, and from that fiend who is all death, Satan. It will be as if there were a thousand men watching over one man;

72 So that neither the sword well-thrust, neither the club well-falling, nor the arrow well-shot, nor the spear well-darted, nor the stones flung from the arm shall destroy him.

73 They come on this side, they come on that side, never resting, the good, powerful, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, asking for the faithful's charity thus: "Who will praise us? Who will give charity in our name? Who will meditate upon us? Who will bless us? Who will receive us with meat and clothes in his hand and with a prayer worthy of bliss? Of which of us will the name be taken for remembrance? Of which of you will the soul be remembered by you with charity? To whom will that gift of ours be given, that he may have never-failing food for ever and ever?"

74 We honour the perception; we honour the intellect; we honour the conscience; we honour those of the benefactors;

We honour the souls; those of the tame animals; those of the wild animals; those of the animals that live in the waters; those of the animals that live under the ground; those of the flying ones; those of the running ones; those of the grazing ones.

We honour their guardian angels.

75 We honour the guardian angels.

We honour them, the liberal;

We honour them, the valiant; we honour them, the most valiant;

We honour them, the beneficent; we honour them, the most beneficent;

We honour them, the powerful;

We honour them, the most strong;

We honour them, the light; we honour them, the most light;

We honour them, the effective; we honour them, the most effective.

76 They are the most effective amongst the creatures of the two spirits, they the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful, who stood holding fast when the two spirits created the world, the Good Spirit and the Evil One.

77 When Satan broke into the creation of the good holiness, then came in across the Good Mind and the light of the fire.

78 They destroyed the malice of Satan, so that the waters did not stop flowing nor did the plants stop growing; but at once the most beneficent waters of the Creator and Ruler, the Wise Lord, flowed forward and His plants went on growing.

79 We give thanks to God for all the waters;

We give thanks to God for all the plants;

We honour all the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful.

We give thanks for the waters by their names;

We give thanks for the plants by their names;

We honour the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the faithful by their names.

XXIII

82 We give thanks for the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels of the holy angels, the bright ones, whose looks perform what they wish, the tall, quickly coming to do, strong, and lordly, who are undecaying and holy;

83 Who are all seven of one thought, who are all seven of one speech, who are all seven of one deed; whose thought is the same, whose speech is the same, whose deed is the same, whose commander is the same, namely, the Maker, the Wise Lord;

84 Who see one another's soul thinking of good thoughts, thinking of good words, thinking of good deeds, thinking of Paradise, and whose ways are shining as they go down towards the offerings.

XXIV

85 We honour the good, strong, beneficent guardian angels appointed over the most rejoicing fire, the beneficent and assembly-making; and over the holy, strong angel Sraosha, who is faithful to the Word, a mighty-speared servant of God; and over the angel Nairyo-sangha.

86 And over the Just Judge, the angel of Truth;

Over the Covenant of the Friend, Lord of wide pastures;

Over the Holy Word;

Over the sky;

Over the waters;

Over the earth;

Over the plants;

Over the Bull;

Over the living man;

Over the holy creation.

87 We honour the guardian angel of Gaya Maretan, who first listened unto the thought and teaching of the Wise Lord; of whom God formed the race of the Aryan nations, the seed of the Aryan nations.

We honour the piety and the guardian angel of the holy Zarathustra;

88 Who first thought what is good, who first spoke what is good, who first did what is good; who was the first Priest, the first Warrior, the first Plougher of the ground; who first knew and first taught; who first possessed and first took possession of the Bull, of Holiness, of the Word, the obedience to the Word, and dominion, and all the good things made by the Wise Lord, that are the offspring of the good Principle;