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. . . .

Unto God, the Giver of Holiness, the fairest; for the much-desired Healing prayer, made by God, and for the good Fruition, with eyes of love, made by God and holy;

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: "That thou mayest increase Righteousness, O Spitama Zarathushtra, with hymns of praise, with performance of the office, with invocations, holy words, offerings, blessings, and adoration, once to abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful abodes, for the devotion and invocation of Us."

2 Zarathushtra said: "Say unto me the right words, such as they are, O Wise Lord, that I may increase Righteousness, with hymns of praise, with performance of the office, with invocations, holy words, offerings, blessings, and adoration, once to abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful abodes, for the devotion and invocation of Thee."

3 "I proclaim Righteousness: if I proclaim Righteousness, then easy is the way to the abode of the other holy qualities which God the Wise Lord keeps with Good Thoughts, which God the Wise Lord keeps with Good Words, which God the Wise Lord keeps with Good Deeds;

4 "Easy is the way to the House of Song of God the Wise Lord: the House of Song is for the holy souls, and no one of the wicked can enter the House of Song and its bright, wide, holy ways; no one of them can go to God the Wise Lord.

II.

5 "The healing prayer smites down the strength of all the creatures of Satan, of the sorcerers and witches. It is the greatest of prayers, the best of prayers, the very best of all prayers; the fairest of prayers, the very fairest of all prayers; the fearful one amongst prayers, the most fearful of all prayers; the firm one amongst prayers, the firmest of all prayers; the victorious one amongst prayers, the most victorious of all prayers; the healing one amongst prayers, the best-healing of all prayers.

6 "One may heal with Holiness, one may heal with the Law, one may heal with the knife, one may heal with herbs, one may heal with the Holy Word: amongst all remedies this one is the healing one that heals with the Holy Word; this one it is that will best drive away sickness from the body of the faithful: for this one is the best-healing of all remedies.

7 "Sickness fled away before it. Death fled away; the devil fled away, the devil's counterwork fled away; the unholy heretic fled away, the oppressor of men fled away.

8 "The brood of the Snake fled away; the brood of the Wolf fled away; the brood of the Two-legged fled away. Pride fled away; Scorn fled away; Hot Fever fled away; Slander fled away; Discord fled away; the Evil Eye fled away.

9 "The most lying words of falsehood fled away; the harlot, addicted to sorcery, fled away; the harlot, who makes one pine, fled away; the wind that blows from the North fled away; the wind that blows from the North vanished away.

10 "He it is who smites the brood of the Snake, and who might smite those devils by thousands of thousands, by ten thousands of ten thousands; he smites sickness, he smites death, he smites the devils, he smites the devil's counterwork, he smites the unholy heretic, he smites the oppressor of men.

11 "He smites the brood of the Snake; he smites the brood of the Wolf; he smites the brood of the Two-legged. He smites Pride; he smites Scorn; he smites Hot Fever; he smites Slander; he smites Discord; he smites the Evil Eye.

12 "He smites the most lying words of falsehood; he smites the harlot, addicted to sorcery; he smites the harlot who makes one pine. He smites the wind that blows from the North; the wind that blows from the North vanished away.

13 "He it is who smites the brood of the Two-legged, and who might smite those devils, by thousands of thousands, by ten thousands of ten thousands. Satan, who is all death, the worst-lying of all devils, rushed from before him:

14 "He exclaimed, did Satan: 'Woe is me! Here is the angel of Righteousness, who will smite the sickliest of all sicknesses, who will afflict the sickliest of all sicknesses;

"'He will smite the deadliest of all deaths, he will afflict the deadliest of all deaths;

"'He will smite the most fiendish of all fiends, he will afflict the most fiendish of all fiends;

"'He will smite the most counter-working of all counter-works, he will afflict the most counter-working of all counter-works;

"'He will smite the unholy heretic, he will afflict the unholy heretic;

"'He will smite the most oppressive of the oppressors of men, he will afflict the most oppressive of the oppressors of men.

15 "'He will smite the snakiest of the Snake's brood, he will afflict the snakiest of the Snake's brood;

"'He will smite the most wolfish of the Wolf's brood, he will afflict the most wolfish of the Wolf's brood;

"'He will smite the worst of the two-legged brood, he will afflict the worst of the two-legged brood;

"'He will smite Pride, he will afflict Pride;

"'He will smite Scorn, he will afflict Scorn;

"'He will smite the hottest of hot fevers, he will afflict the hottest of hot fevers;

"'He will smite the most slanderous of slanders, he will afflict the most slanderous of slanders;

"'He will smite the most discordant of discords, he will afflict the most discordant of discords;

"'He will smite the worst of the Evil Eye, he will afflict the worst of the Evil Eye.

16 "'He will smite the most lying words of falsehood, he will afflict the most lying words of falsehood;

"'He will smite the harlot, addicted to sorcery, he will afflict the harlot, addicted to sorcery;

"'He will smite the harlot, who makes one pine, he will afflict the harlot, who makes one pine;

"'He will smite the wind that blows from the North, he will afflict the wind that blows from the North.'

17 "The Falsehood will perish away, the Falsehood will perish; the Falsehood will rush, the Falsehood will vanish. Thou perishest away to the regions of the North, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit.

18 "For the brightness and glory of Righteousness I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard, in thanks for Righteousness, the fairest. For the gift of Righteousness, the fairest, we offer up the libations, the Haoma-drink and meat, the sacred twigs, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy prayers, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words, to God alone.

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

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

"I bless the devotion and prayer, the strength and vigour, of God, Giver of Holiness, the fairest; and I give thanks for the much-desired Healing prayer, made by God; and for the good Fruition, with eyes of love, made by God and holy.

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

"O God, give unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of body, . . . give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones."